EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. ? The Detroit Pistons’ five-game defensive sub-70 streak came to an end, though the New Jersey Nets went a bit overboard to halt it.

The Nets committed an intentional foul to stop the clock with 13.1 seconds left, and Aaron Williams made a tip-in with 1.1 seconds remaining in an 89-71 loss to the Pistons Thursday night.

Williams pumped his fist after he scored.

“Maybe that was bigger to them than winning the game. That’s what it seemed like to us,” Rasheed Wallace said. “They were down there cheering, so hey, let them worry about that. We got what we came for.”

Detroit gained a split of the season series and moved two games ahead of New Jersey in the conference standings — important if the teams, all but locked into the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds, meet in the second round of the playoffs.

Chauncey Billups scored 20 points, Rasheed Wallace had 16 and Richard Hamilton 15 for the Pistons, who held the Nets to 35 percent shooting and forced 17 turnovers.

“They’re not better than us,” New Jersey’s Kenyon Martin said.

Spurs 106, Timberwolves 86

San Antonio — Tim Duncan, nursing a sore left knee, had 22 points and 10 rebounds in his first game as a reserve, leading San Antonio. Duncan, who missed nine of the Spurs’ past 10 games because of a left knee injury, had started all 506 games of his NBA career before Thursday.

Sonics 97, Grizzlies 94

Memphis, Tenn. — Vladimir Radmanovic and Ray Allen each had 19 points, leading Seattle. The SuperSonics led until the fourth quarter, when the Grizzlies staged a 14-2 run to take a 78-76 advantage on a dunk by Pau Gasol with 6:10 left. Brent Barry had 13 points for Seattle.

Detroit's RasheeD Wallace, left, battles New Jersey's Richard Jefferson. The Pistons defeated the Nets, 89-71, Thursday night in East Rutherford, N.J.