Sunderland were left to rue a host of missed chances and wasted possession as Tottenham returned to winning ways with a smash-and-grab victory.
Robbie Keane put Spurs ahead when he bundled in Peter Crouch's knock-down and Tom Huddlestone wrapped up victory with a fierce 20-yarder on 70 minutes.
But, goals aside, Sunderland dominated, with Andy Reid striking the post and Heurelho Gomes making crucial saves.
The most vital came from Darren Bent's penalty after his foul on the striker.
After league defeats to Stoke and rivals Arsenal, the three points were most welcome for a Tottenham side with ambitions of breaking into the top four.
But on another day the Londoners could have been put to the sword by a vibrant Sunderland side, who will wonder how they failed to get anything out of a match they controlled for long periods.
Few will feel the pain more than Bent, whose return to Tottenham - a club at which he spent two years, so often on the sidelines - dominated much of the pre-match talk.
The 25-year-old could barely have hoped to have come into the game on better form having bagged eight goals in 11 appearances this season, but his impression of White Hart Lane will hardly have been enhanced by a miserable afternoon.
First he had to watch on as Keane, one of the main reasons he missed out on first-team football at Spurs at the back end of last season, grabbed the opener.
Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp:
"We got away with it a bit today. We couldn't get going and Sunderland looked very, very good.
"Our keeper was fantastic and we've clawed out a result - sometimes football works like that. A couple of weeks ago we battered Stoke and lost.
"As for their penalty - Gomes says he's tried to get out of the way of the player and got kicked in the chest. I haven't seen it yet but, even if it was a penalty, I don't think he should've got a red card - Bent was going away from goal and sometimes we're too quick to send players off.
"I'd honestly say that even if it was my player who'd got brought down."
Sunderland manager Steve Bruce:
"Sometimes in football you have a day like today - since the beach ball incident at Liverpool we've run out of luck and we've been out of luck again today.
"The best opportunities and possession were ours, but we've not taken them and come away with nothing.
"The turning point today was the second-half penalty incident. Darren Bent was through on goal, it's a goal-scoring opportunity, and by the letter of the law their keeper should be sent off.
"Instead it's just a yellow card and he's had the chance to save the penalty. If we're playing 10 men who knows? Still, I'm delighted with the way we played - we completely bossed the game - that's football sometimes."
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