TORONTO -- The Raptors capped their most successful regular-season in franchise history with a 92-87 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.
Kyle Lowry scored 26 points to lead the Raptors on the final night of the NBA regular-season, their victory giving the Raptors a best-ever 49 victories on the season, one more than last year.
Then they departed for the locker-room to await their post-season opponent.
The Raptors went into the night in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, but just one game behind Chicago for third, and had to wait until the Bulls' game versus Atlanta ended to learn their opponent for their second straight playoff appearance.
A Chicago win and the Raptors play the Washington Wizards. A loss: they'll face the Milwaukee Bucks. The Raptors will host Games 1 and 2 of the post-season beginning this weekend.
Jonas Valanciunas added 18 points for Toronto (49-33), while DeMar DeRozan finished with 16, and Terrence Ross added 13.
Troy Daniels scored 24 points to lead Charlotte (33-49).
DeRozan took the court before the game to address the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd of 19,800, saying: "We want to thank y'all for being the best fans in the NBA. Enjoy the game and enjoy the playoffs."
The Raptors head into the post-season on a high, after firing on all cylinders Wednesday. They shot a sizzling 49 per cent, and when James Johnson took flight for a huge putback jam with just under five minutes to play, it put the Raptors up by 16 points.
They cruised through the final five minutes, and crowd stood and cheered the playoff-bound team through the game's final minute.
Lowry looked in playoff form in his fourth game back after missing nine of 10 with a back injury, shooting 8-for-15 -- 6-for-9 from three-point range -- and adding seven assists.
The Raptors led almost from the opening tip-off, and a driving hook shot from Ross with 30 seconds to go in the first put them up 25-20 heading into the second.
Lowry poured in 13 points in the second, and DeRozan tossed up a turnaround fadeaway jumper at the buzzer that circled the rim dramatically before dropping through. DeRozan broke into a celebratory gallop and the Raptors took a 55-44 lead into the halftime dressing room.
Valanciunas took over in the third, scoring 10 points as the Raptors stretched their lead to 13 points. They went into the fourth up 78-67.
