The Pacers became the first NBA team to win 20 games this season. It took them until January 5 to reach 20 last year, in their 34th game. Lance Stephenson flirted with a triple-double and Roy Hibbert had a double-double but Indiana (20-3) struggled mightily to fend off a determined effort by Charlotte before prevailing 99-94 on Fridaybefore a sellout crowd of 18,165 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Stephenson finished with his fifth double-double of the season with 20 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Hibbert had his eighth double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Charlotte led 90-89 midway through the fourth quarter but Indiana finished with a 10-4 burst to improve to a franchise-record 11-0 start at home. Al Jefferson scored 21 for the Bobcats (10-13).
Cleveland Cavaliers 109 V Orlando Magic 100
Dion Waiters scored 16 straight Cavalier points, and Kyrie Irving had his second straight game of scoring more than 30 points, leading to a 109-100 win over the Magic Friday night. Irving finished with 31 points and five assists in Cleveland's (9-13) fifth win in six games. Waiters scored the Cavaliers' final basket of the third quarter, then scored their next 14 points -- the final six during a decisive 14-0 run from which the Magic (7-16) never recovered.
Toronto Raptors 108 V Philadelphia 76ers 100
DeMar DeRozan scored a game-high 27 points and Terrence Ross added a season-high 24 as the Toronto Raptors (8-13) withstood a late Philadelphia 76ers (7-17) comeback to defeat them 108-100.
Atlanta Hawks 101 V Washington Wizards 99 OT
The Hawks beat the Wizards 101-99 on Friday night at Phillips Arena. Paul Millsap added a double-double for Atlanta with 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Washington center Marcin Gortat doubled up as well with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Wall added 11 assists.
Boston Celtics 90 V New York Knicks 86
The Boston Celtics overcame an 11-point fourth quarter and fought back to beat the New York Knicks 90-86 at the TD Garden. It was the second win for Boston over New York in past six days, having defeated them by 41 points in New York on Sunday.
Detroit Pistons 103 V Brooklyn Nets 99
Center Andre Drummond and power forward Greg Monroe combined for 44 points and 24 rebounds as the Detroit Pistons (11-13) ended a three-game losing streak with a 103-99 victory over the Brooklyn Nets (8-15) on Friday night at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
New Orleans Pelicans 104 V Memphis Grizzlies 98
Memphis entered Friday night having won 17 straight when shooting at least 50 percent. The Pelicans ended that streak, downing the Grizzlies despite Memphis shooting exactly 50 percent. With Anthony Davis out of New Orleans' lineup because of a broken hand, Pelicans coach Monty Williams has consistently said a different player will have to step up each night. He got one Friday night, helping the Pelicans beat the Grizzlies 104-98.
Eric Gordon put up 25 points on 10-for-12 shooting for New Orleans (11-10), including going 3-for-3 from 3-point range, grabbed four rebounds and dished out four assists.
Oklahoma City Thunder 122 v Los Angeles Lakers 97
The Thunder extend their overall winning streak to five straight and their home court winning streak to 11 consecutive games with their win over the Lakers. Kevin Durant scored 31 points and Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka had double-doubles in the first three quarters then watched from the bench as the Oklahoma City Thunder led by as many as 30 points and crushed the Los Angeles Lakers 122-97.
Chicago Bulls 91 V Milwaukee Bucks 90
Mike Dunleavy's banked-in 3-pointer with 5.8 seconds left to send his former team Milwaukee Bucks down to a 91-90 defeat on Friday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
San Antonio Spurs 117 V Minnesota Timberwolves 110
Kevin Love gave the Spurs fits at the AT&T Center, hitting eight of his nine 3-pointers and grabbing 14 rebounds. Down the stretch, though, the Spurs had no trouble getting to the basket, hitting five layups in the last five minutes of the game en route to a 117-110 win.
Utah Jazz 103 V Denver Nuggets 93
Gordon Hayward had a huge night, scoring a season-high 30 points and pulling down a career-high 13 rebounds and the Utah Jazz recovered after blowing a 16-point lead to beat the Denver Nuggets 103-93 on Friday night.
Phoenix Suns 116 V Sacramento Kings 107
The Phoenix Suns' dual-point guard experiment continues to be a smash hit. With Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe combining for 57 points, the Suns -- widely regarded as the Western Conference's worst team entering the season -- won their fourth straight to move to 13-9.
Houston Rockets 116 V Golden State Warriors 112
James Harden scored a game-high 26 points with nine assists and the Houston Rockets pulled away late for a 116-112 victory against the Golden State Warriors on Friday.
