AUBURN HILLS, Mich, March 31 (Ticker) -- Jerry Stackhouse led the Detroit Pistons into the postseason.

Stackhouse had 22 points, converting 10-of-11 free-throw attempts, and Corliss Williamson came off the bench to add 16 as the Pistons clinched a playoff berth by holding on for an 86-82 triumph over the Denver Nuggets.

The Pistons made the postseason for the first time since the 1999-2000 season, when they were swept in the opening round by the Miami Heat.

With nine games to play, Detroit owns a 5 1/2-game lead over Charlotte and Milwaukee in the Central Division, but trails New Jersey by 2 1/2 games for the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

NBA TV highlights from Nuggets-Pistons: 56k | 300k It wasn't easy, but Chucky Atkins and the Pistons are in the playoffs for the first time since '98. Allen Einstein NBAE/Getty Images

"We still got a lot to play for," Stackhouse said. "There's still a team ahead of us that we're making ground on. So, why not try to catch them?"

After Detroit wasted an 11-point, third-quarter advantage, Stackhouse hit two free throws with 14 seconds left to give the Pistons an 84-81 edge and help secure a sweep of their season series with the Nuggets for the first time since 1998.

"People said I could never lead this team to anything. So, I feel really good," Stackhouse said. "This makes a lot of sacrifices worthwhile. It didn't matter when we clinched it. But it was nice to see how excited the fans were."

Calbert Cheaney registered 14 of his 22 points in the third quarter for Denver, which lost its sixth consecutive game in The Palace at Auburn Hills.

Detroit has not lost at home to the Nuggets since a 99-88 setback on March 10, 1995 and have taken 11 of its last 13 home matchups with the Nuggets.

"We are not usually that successful on back-to-back nights. But tonight we really came out and gave a good effort," Nuggets coach Mike Evans said.

Chucky Atkins made a driving layup 55 seconds into the third quarter as Detroit opened a 52-41 cushion.

Chris Andersen made a pair of free throws with just over 10 minutes remaining to ignite the Nuggets' 24-7 run to close the quarter. After Mengke Bateer and Juwan Howard each hit a jumper, Cheaney made a basket with 5:52 to go and pulled Denver within 52-49.

With the Pistons up by four, Cheaney scored 10 straight points to put the Nuggets ahead, 61-55, with just over two minutes to go.

"I just wanted to be more aggressive and try and get some shots," Cheaney said. "It felt really good. The coach has had enough confidence in me to throw it down in the post and try to get some things done."

"We're used to running to Voshon Lenard to provide us with a scoring punch and knowing that he wasn't there, we had to have someone step up," Evans said. "Calbert continues to shoot the ball well. He shot the ball well the other night and shot well tonight."

Lenard, who has averaged 11.2 points per game this season, was not with the team due to a family matter.

The Pistons, who have won 18 of their last 24 games, not only have clinched a playoff berth, but also own first place in the Central Division this late in the season for the first time since the 1989-90 campaign. That year, Detroit captured its second straight NBA title.

"It's a great feeling," Williamson said of clinching a spot in the postseason. "At the beginning of the year, I'm sure we would have been positive and said that we could certainly do this. But I'm not sure we would have really believed it."