Nets 101, Celtics 93: Deron Williams had 29 points and 12 assists as visiting Brooklyn moved closer to locking up the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Brook Lopez scored 21 points and Joe Johnson added 20 as the Nets moved 3 1/2 games ahead of Chicago and Atlanta with four to play in the race for fourth place and home-court advantage in the opening round of the playoffs.

Paul Pierce scored 23 points to lead the Celtics, who maintained a three-game lead for the No. 7 seed when Milwaukee lost in overtime to Orlando.

Williams scored 11 points in the second quarter when Brooklyn took control of the game, using a late 15-2 burst en route to taking a 53-43 lead into halftime.

The Nets built the advantage to as many as 16 points in the third before the Celtics cut the deficit to 79-69 entering the fourth. Boston was as close as 91-82 with six minutes left before Williams scored six points in a 10-0 spurt to break it open.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Williams hit one 3-pointer to give him 159 on the season, eclipsing the franchise record held by Kerry Kittles (1996-97). ... Fs Jeff Green and Kevin Garnett each scored 11 points for Boston. ... Nets F Reggie Evans had only one point but grabbed 14 rebounds for his 15th straight game with double-digit boards.