Bogut spent 38 minutes on the court and was brilliant as he went on to score 27 points, pull down 11 rebounds and dish off six assists.

The Bucks trailed the Bobcats by a point at quarter-time but, thanks largely to the feats of Bogut and Earl Boykins (30 points, six rebounds), Milwaukee outscored their opponent in each of the remaining three quarters to register the win.

Emeka Okafor (17 points, 12 rebounds) and Matt Carroll (22 points) were the Bobcats best.

In Chicago, the Bulls, fresh from their 111-66 demolition of Memphis, recorded a significant 99-87 victory over San Antonio, ending the Spurs' four-game winning streak in the process.

After trailing San Antonio 21-24 at quarter-time, Chicago outscored the Spurs 53-40 in the middle two quarters and the Spurs weren't able to overcome the deficit in the last.

Kirk Hinrich was fantastic for Chicago with his 23 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and he was ably supported by Ben Gordon who racked up 20 points.

Tim Duncan was once again the star for San Antonio with 21 points and 16 rebounds.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers pipped the Miami Heat 124-118 in a thriller that went into overtime.

Despite the letdown of Shaquille O'Neal failing to be fit for the re-match with his old side, that was quickly forgotten as fans were treated to a brilliant game.

In a see-sawing affair, both sides ended up tied on 110 when the final buzzer sounded with the Lakers outscoring the Heat 14-8 in the crucial overtime period.

Brian Cook (25 points, 10 rebounds) and Kobe Bryant (25 points, eight assists) were the game-breakers for Los Angeles, while the Heat's Dwayne Wade continued his brilliant season with 35 points and eight assists.

And in Phoenix, the Phoenix Suns made it ten wins in a row with a comfortable 137-122 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in what was a high-scoring, free-flowing match.

Amare Stoudemire was sublime for the Suns as he netted a game-high 42 points to go with his nine rebounds whilst Shawn Marion also proved to be very effective with 22 points and 13 rebounds.

Pau Gasol was Memphis' best with 23 points and nine rebounds.

In other matches, the New York Knicks were too good for the Sacramento Kings 102-97, the Washington Wizards pipped the Utah Jazz 114-111 and the Toronto Raptors easily accounted for the Philadelphia 76ers 104-86.

Elsewhere, the Atlanta Hawks edged out the Boston Celtics 100-96, the New Jersey Nets defeated the Indiana Pacers 105-95, the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Detroit Pistons 94-90 and the Golden State Warriors had a comfortable win over the Los Angeles Clippers 108-93.