Cam Johnson and Cameron Payne have both scored 19 points to lead the Phoenix Suns to a franchise-record 18th win in a row, beating the Detroit Pistons 114-103 on Thursday night.
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Johnson and Payne sparked a stellar effort from the Suns bench, who finished with 48 points. Deandre Ayton had 17 points and 12 rebounds as Phoenix improved to league-best 19-3 for the season and top spot in the Western Conference standings.
"It is hard to win in this league and we are not satisfied but it is special," Suns coach Monty Williams said.
"To do it in front of our fan base, in a special city like this, with the history of this franchise is pretty cool and I want our guys to enjoy it."
Phoenix won despite not having leading scorer Devin Booker for the first time this season. The two-time All-Star suffered a left hamstring injury in Tuesday's win over the Golden State Warriors.
The Suns have not lost since October 27, when Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes hit a three-pointer as time ran out for a 110-107 victory.
Earlier, the Memphis Grizzlies broke the NBA record for margin of victory by beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 152-79.
The 73-point margin topped the previous mark, which was the Cleveland Cavaliers' 148-80 win over the Miami Heat on December 17, 1991.
Australia's Josh Giddey (illness) missed a second straight game for the Thunder, also sitting out the day before's loss to the Houston Rockets.
"Tonight is not necessarily who we are," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.
"I think we've definitely shown that from a competitive standpoint. This isn't indicative of who our team is."
Memphis used 12 players and nine of them reached double figures in scoring, with Jaren Jackson Jr.'s 27 points leading the way for the Grizzlies - who were without their injured star guard Ja Morant.
The Grizzlies (11-10) set a franchise record for shooting, making 62.5 per cent of shots.
"Man, it feels great. It feels great to be in the history books, especially in front of our home crowd," De'Anthony Melton, who scored 19 points, said.
Lu Dort led OKC with 15 points as they dropped to 6-15 after their eighth straight loss.
It was also a disappointing night in Toronto for the defending-champion Milwaukee Bucks who were beaten 97-93 by the Raptors.
Fred VanVleet scored 29 points, Pascal Siakam had 20 and the hosts took advantage of Giannis Antetokounmpo's (calf) absence to end the Bucks' winning streak at eight.
With that defeat Milwaukee (14-9) dropped to third in the Eastern Conference standings, one game behind the Chicago Bulls who held on for a 119-115 victory over the New York Knicks.
DeMar DeRozan scored 34 points, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic each added 27 for the Bulls (15-8), while in Portland the San Antonio Spurs surprised the Trail Blazers 114-83.
Australian Associated Press
