Nets 100, Knicks 98: Brook Lopez provided the go-ahead basket with two seconds left and celebrated his 27th birthday with 18 points and seven rebounds as Brooklyn held off host New York.

Deron Williams collected 26 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Nets, who remained one-half game ahead of the Boston Celtics in the race for the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference. Markel Brown added 14 points and Thaddeus Young scored 12 as Brooklyn won its fifth straight.

Andrea Bargnani scored 22 points and Cleanthony Early added 14 off the bench as the Knicks dropped their eighth straight game. Ricky Ledo scored a career-high 13 points and Langston Galloway added 13 as well for New York.

Early knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing to knot it at 98 with 1:07 to play and the Nets turned it over on a shot clock violation on the ensuing possession. The Knicks squandered their chance to take the lead when Young blocked Early, and Lopez’s putback of Williams’ miss put Brooklyn ahead to stay as Early’s game-winning attempt missed the mark for New York.

Williams scored 18 points in the first half to help the Nets to a 58-53 lead at the break. Lopez’s jumper pushed the advantage to 78-62 with 4:48 left in the third quarter, and it was a 14-point lead heading to the fourth before the Knicks battled back and cut it to 92-88 on Early’s 3-pointer with 6:43 to play.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Nets swept the four-game season series between the crosstown rivals. … Knicks G Tim Hardaway Jr. (wrist) missed his ninth straight contest. … Ledo has gone for double figures in three of the last four games.