NEW YORK -- With rookie Kristaps Porzingis mired in a slump, the New York Knicks have found a pleasant surprise in forward Derrick Williams.

The 6-foot-8 Williams ignited the Knicks (15-18) by scoring 16 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter on Tuesday, helping New York end a four-game losing streak with a 108-96 win over the Detroit Pistons at Madison Square Garden.

Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony poured in 24 points, passing former Philadelphia 76er Hal Greer for 32nd place on the NBA's all-time scoring list. Greer recorded 21,586 points; Anthony now has 21,604 points.

Just ahead of Anthony is Larry Bird with 21,791 points.

Point guard Jose Calderon added 15 points, and Kyle O'Quinn contributed 12 points off the bench.

Williams, who played a season high 29 minutes as a reserve, scored 16 of his points in the final quarter, hitting 5-of-6 shots from the field. He's averaging 47 percent from the field in his last five games.

After a hot start, Porzingis has cooled off to the tune of shooting just 35 percent in his last five games. He scored 10 points in 18 minutes against the Pistons.

He gave way to Williams in the fourth quarter.

"That's the coach's decision," said Porzingis, the fourth overall pick in the June draft. "We were playing well at that point and the game was going our way.

"We got the win and that is what matters. When it is the fourth quarter I want to be in the game, but we won tonight. I will have my chances."

Forward Ersan Ilyasova paced Detroit (17-15) with 19 points and forward Marcus Morris and point guard Reggie Jackson each scored 17. Center Andre Drummond, the league leader in rebounding, scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

The Knicks led by only 80-76 early in the fourth quarter, but went on a 25-11 run to take an 18-point lead on Williams' long jumper with 1:42 left in the game.

"There was not one stretch in that game where we played defense," admitted Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy. "I think Marcus (Morris) competed against Carmelo Anthony and nobody else brought anything."

Knicks center Robin Lopez was able to contain Drummond, who averages 16.3 rebounds. Lopez blocked six shots and grabbed seven rebounds.

"Players like Drummond are not necessarily contained by one guy," remarked Knicks coach Derek Fisher. "I think what contained him (Drummond) the most was Robin's aggressive play on the offensive end.

"We put a little pressure on the other guys this morning to help Robin out rebounding."

The Knicks received at least one rebound from 10 players.

A basket from Williams advanced the Knicks lead to 93-83 with 6:22 left to play.

Anthony ignited a 13-4 Knicks run in the third quarter with a 20-foot jumper on the way to a 65-54 lead with 7:37 remaining in the quarter. He dropped in nine points in the quarter.

The Knicks bench scored 17 points in the first half to help New York to a 50-49 edge. Ilyasova (14), Morris (13) and Jackson (11) combined for 38 of Detroit's first-half points.

New York took its first lead, 29-28, early in the second quarter on a short jumper from forward Kyle O'Quinn, then went on a 13-7 run to move ahead with 4:35 left in the quarter.

The Knicks were able to close the Detroit lead to 26-25 at the close of the first quarter after being down by as many as seven points.

NOTES: Knicks F Lou Amundson was out with back spasms. ... Detroit is the Knicks sixth opponent in a stretch of 11 straight games against teams that are .500 or better. ... The Pistons entered the game assisting on a league-low 48.2 percent of their field goals. ... Detroit C Andre Drummond leads the league in rebounding. ... Knicks G Arron Afflalo was drafted by the Pistons with the 27th overall pick in the 2007 draft and played for Detroit from 2007 to 2009. ... The Knicks rank first in free-throw percentage (81.1) and opponent 3-point field goal percentage (30.6).