Storm's unbeaten streak now sits at nine following their win over City of Birmingham, whilst just four points separated second through eighth as the playoff places couldn't be much tighter.
Bradford Dragons also put their stuttering league form to one side to book a spot in the quarter-finals of the NBL National Cup with a road win over Nottingham Hoods in yesterday's only game.
We take a look back at all the weekend's action below, with links to live stats at the bottom of the page.
Thames Valley picked up a valuable road win in Bristol, coming out on top 84-75 to move themselves into the thick of the playoff places.
The hosts scored just 12 points in each of the quarters on either side of the half-time break, leaving themselves too much to do despite taking the final quarter 24-18.
Playing without forward Vilmantas Dilys, Bristol lost the battle on the boards 57-36 despite 16 rebounds and 23 points from captain Daniel Edozie.
That allowed the likes of AJ Roberts (20pts, 12reb) and Aiden Saunders (16pts, 13reb) to pick up double-doubles for the visitors as they both went to work in the win.
Bristol did have the better of the early going, leading for most of the opening half and moving ahead by as many as nine points.
The Hurricanes would hit just one of their last ten shots leading into the main change though, with the hosts giving up a 36-28 advantage to trail 42-39 at the break, with the third quarter providing little to change that momentum.
That allowed TVC to forge ahead, with Juan Manning also providing a useful 14-point, six-rebound, four-assist effort that included 3/5 from long range.
Thames Valley now head home for a clash against Loughborough, who sit just two points above the Cavs, whilst Bristol visit an Essex Rebels team that have won two in a row.
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Thirty-nine points between Hafeez Abdul and Ronald Blain wouldn't be enough for Newcastle Knights (3-6) as they fell to an 81-67 home loss against Essex Rebels (5-4).
A 19-8 opening frame meant Essex would lead this one from tip to buzzer behind strong outings from Connor Nelson (20pts) and Joe Hart (14pts, 7ast) off the Rebels' bench.
Milton Keynes Breakers' (3-4) ended their four game losing streak as they beat Derby Trailblazers (7-3) 75-67.
Adrian Scarborough (19pts, 13reb) was the standout for the hosts, with fellow American KJ Johnson (19pts, 8ast) also impressing to hand Derby just their third loss of the season.
Loughborough Riders (6-3) continue to make moves up the standings, with an 85-73 victory over Worthing Thunder (2-7) this weekend.
Being held to just seven points in the third quarter threatened to undo much of Loughborough's first half work, but they regrouped to take the fourth 28-14, and with it another valuable two points.
Michael Joiner's 32-point, 12-rebound double-double was a big difference between the teams in that one.
Hemel Storm (9-0) stayed perfect once again as they saw off City of Birmingham Rockets (5-5) 100-83.
Matt Ellis continued his recent good form with a stunning 31 points, adding 10 boards for the double-double and another fine day at the office.
Reading Rockets (7-3) did their best to keep pace with Hemel at the top, beating Nottingham Hoods (2-9) 95-65 to increase the Hoods' problems this season.
Mitch Clarke (24pts, 6ast) and Justin Hopkins (23pts) combined to do the damage for the Rockets, who remain four points behind top spot.
It proved to be a weekend to forget for Nottingham Hoods as they followed up Saturday's D1M defeat in Reading with being dumped out of the NBL National Cup at the hands of Bradford Dragons.
The Dragons took a close one 83-77 to end Nottingham's Cup hopes, though the game could have swung either way as both teams took a turn to lead in the fourth and neither side led by more than eight points across an even contest.
Greg Skoric (19pts, 10reb) turned in another double-double performance for the hosts with a typically efficient 60% shooting, but Justin Williams (21pts, 7ast), Kofi Josephs (19pts) and Rihard Sulcs (17pts, 11reb, 5ast, 5stl) would all combine to push Bradford into the next round.
The Dragons' reward for the win is a road trip to Newcastle Knights in the quarter-finals, with those games taking place next weekend (15/12/2024).
2pm - Newcastle Knights 67-81 Essex Rebels - LIVE STATS / LIVE STREAM
5pm - Milton Keynes Breakers 75-67 Derby Trailblazers - LIVE STATS
5:30pm Bristol Hurricanes 75-84 Thames Valley Cavaliers - LIVE STATS / LIVE STREAM
6pm - Loughborough Riders 85-73 Worthing Thunder - LIVE STATS / LIVE STREAM
7pm - Hemel Storm 100-83 City of Birmingham Rockets - LIVE STATS / LIVE STREAM
7:30pm - Reading Rockets 95-65 Nottingham Hoods - LIVE STATS
6:30pm - Nottingham Hoods 77-83 Bradford Dragons - LIVE STATS
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Main image credit - Luke Simcock
