Ray Allen scored 36 points as the Boston Celtics snapped a four-game losing streak to beat the Toronto Raptors 94-88.

Allen helped Boston jump out to a quick start, sinking all five of his three-point attempts in the first quarter as the Celtics raced out to a 32-20 advantage.

He finished 11-of-14 from the field - making 8-of-10 from the arc - and also converted all six of his free-throw attempts, while Rajon Rondo had 14 points and 11 assists and Kevin Garnett added 10 points and 11 rebounds for the defending NBA champions.

The Celtics remained in third place in the Eastern Conference, one game behind the first-placed Cleveland Cavaliers and half a game behind the Orlando Magic, who out-gunned the San Antonio Spurs 105-98.

Dwight Howard led the way for the Magic with 24 points, Hedo Turkoglu added 21 and Jameer Nelson finished with 20 as the team knocked down 14-of-22 attempts from three-point range en route to their fourth consecutive win.

Andre Iguodala scored 27 points and handed out nine assists while rookie Marreese Speights scored 10 of his 12 points during a key fourth-quarter run as the Philadelphia 76ers posted their season-high fourth straight win with a 109-94 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

The Los Angeles Lakers opened up a six and a half game lead in the Western Conference as Andrew Bynum tipped in a Kobe Bryant miss with just under 19 seconds remaining in a 108-105 victory over the Miami Heat.

Bynum had 24 points and six rebounds for the Lakers, while Bryant made 19 points as the Lakers claimed their third straight win to become the third team after Orlando and Boston to reach the 30-win mark this season.

Amare Stoudemire led all scorers with 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the Phoenix Suns handed the Los Angeles Clippers their 11th straight loss with a 109-103 victory.

Kevin Martin had 21 points as the Sacramento Kings ended a five-game losing streak, battling back from a 13-point deficit to defeat the Dallas Mavericks 102-95, while Jamal Crawford scored 32 points and made the go-ahead three-pointer late in the contest to give the Golden State Warriors a 120-117 victory over the Indiana Pacers.