CHICAGO: Jimmy Butler continued his torrid scoring streak on Monday by tallying 27 points and 11 rebounds as the Chicago Bulls overpowered the first place Toronto Raptors 129-120.

Butler scored a career-high 35 points in a victory over New York on Thursday, then followed it up with a 31-point performance against Memphis.

He didn’t quite reach 30 again, but he did add five blocks and four assists to his totals.

Derrick Rose scored 29 points, Pau Gasol engineered 14 points and nine rebounds and Aaron Brooks came off the bench to score 17 points for the Bulls, who have won six of their last seven NBA contests.

Kyle Lowry finished with 34 points and six rebounds, while Jonas Valanciunas added 20 points and nine rebounds for the Eastern Conference leading Toronto, which had its six-game winning streak snapped.

Chicago pulled away in the fourth quarter by outscoring the Raptors 49-37.

The game was tied 95-95 just prior to the midway point of the fourth before Chicago went on an 18-8 run over the next 4:48.

The Bulls trailed by as much as 12 points earlier in the second half.

Hawks 105, Mavericks 102: Atlanta point guard Dennis Schroder scored 22 points to lead a balanced attack in the Hawks’ win over the Dallas Mavericks.

The Hawks (20-7) earned their fourth consecutive win and 13th in the past 14 games. Atlanta is in second place in the Eastern Conference.

The Mavericks (20-9) lost despite 13 points and 11 assists from Rajon Rondo who was playing his second game since being acquired in a trade.

Spurs 125, Clippers 118: Tony Parker dropped 26 points on the Los Angeles Clippers, leading the Spurs to a victory that snapped a four-game losing streak.

Parker returned to his spot at point guard, after missing eight of the last nine games with a strained left hamstring, as San Antonio (18-11) earned a season-high output in points and assists with 37.

Chris Paul led the Clippers (19-9) with 25 points and nine assists.

Rockets 110, Trail Blazers 95: James Harden poured in 44 points in a whirling dervish performance to carry the Houston Rockets to a victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Harden added seven assists and five steals to help the Rockets (20-7) snap a modest two-game home losing skid. He had 31 points by the intermission, capping his fabulous first half with a buzzer-beating driving layup that pushed the Rockets to a 76-56 halftime cushion.

The Trail Blazers (22-7) had their five-game winning streak snapped.

Hornets, 110, Nuggets 82: Al Jefferson scored 22 points in less than three quarters of action, and the Charlotte Hornets cruised to their third straight win with a victory over the Denver Nuggets.

The Hornets (9-19) never trailed, leading by as many as 23 in the first half and then pushing the lead to as many as 30 in the second.

Jazz 97, Grizzlies 91: Alec Burks scored 23 points and Gordon Hayward added 21 as the Jazz wrapped up their six-game pre-Christmas road trip with a win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies (21-7) played without injured starters Tony Allen and Zach Randolph.

It was the Grizzlies’ third game in four days and Memphis’ third consecutive loss — the franchise’s longest losing streak since December 2013.