Deron Williams scored 17 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter Wednesday night, but the New Jersey Nets were unable to halt their losing streak.
Powered by a 20-point, 12-rebound night from Greg Monroe, the Detroit Pistons (7-20) handed the Nets (8-19) their fourth-straight loss in a 99-92 win at the Prudential Center. Williams and Kris Humphries (nine points and 16 rebounds) each played 41 minutes of the game, and the Nets were also aided by 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting by Jordan Farmar.
Detroit was buoyed by the return of Ben Gordon, who scored 14 points off the bench after missing the last 11 games with a shoulder injury.
The Nets were able to draw within one point of the lead after Williams converted a 4-point play to bring the score to 78-77 with 8:27 remaining. Detroit built a 6-0 run over the next two-and-a-half minutes before another Williams trey brought New Jersey to within three. Following a basket by Rodney Stuckey, Williams nailed another 3-pointer to put the Nets down just 86-83 with 5:18 to go.
That was the closest New Jersey came to the lead, as Williams missed his next two shots and Farmar was unable to sink a 3-pointer of his own.
Friday night, the Nets get another crack at the Pistons as they travel to Detroit to complete the home-and-home series.