Pistons clinch Central Division title

The Detroit Pistons wrapped up the Central Division the same way they won the NBA Finals - with stifling defense and big shots by Chauncey Billups.

Billups scored 28 points, including the game-winning basket with 8.2 seconds left, to help Detroit clinch the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with an 85-84 overtime victory over Chicago on Monday night.

Billups scored seven points in the extra session, including the go-ahead jumper over Chris Duhon after a nifty crossover dribble.

"I feel like if I am one-on-one, I always can get a pretty good shot or I can get somebody else a good shot," Billups said.

Billups certainly proved that last season on the biggest of stages when he took home the NBA Finals MVP award. He averaged 21 points and 5.2 assists during the Pistons' five-game series victory over the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers.

The playoff-bound Bulls entered with wins in 12 of their last 13 games, and looked like they had this one, too, when they scored the first eight points of overtime. Then the Pistons' vaunted defense took over.

Detroit forced four turnovers over the last 2:11 and ended the game on a 12-3 spurt, with Billups' jumper from just beyond the free throw line providing the difference.

"I just rocked him and crossed him and I got some time to get my feet set," he said.

In other games, it was: Indiana 94, Toronto 90; Washington 119, Milwaukee 112; Cleveland 114, Orlando 106; Charlotte 110, Atlanta 105 in overtime; Dallas 110, Memphis 89; Denver 122, Golden State 106; Houston 90, Seattle 78; and Phoenix beat the Los Angeles Lakers 108-97.

The Pistons won their seventh straight and can tie their best streak of the season with a win against Orlando on Wednesday. With the division clinched and Miami already assured of the East's top seed, Detroit has five games to fine tune for the playoffs.

Not so for the Bulls, who hold a two-game lead over Indiana and Washington for the fourth seed and home-court advantage in the first round. The Pacers and Wizards both won Monday night - something Bulls coach Scott Skiles thinks his team should have done with an eight-point lead in overtime.

"That was disappointing, especially because we had the lead in overtime," Skiles said. "We just did not play with a lot of composure right at the very end, and it cost us."

Kirk Hinrich scored 15 points to lead the Bulls, who shot just 35.1 percent, including 5-of-21 from 3-point range. They played without Eddy Curry for the eighth straight game because of an irregular heartbeat.