Raptors 96, Hornets 90
TORONTO -- DeMar DeRozan had 26 points, seven rebounds and six assists and the Toronto Raptors held on to defeat the Charlotte Hornets 96-90 on Tuesday night.
It was the 30th win at home for the Raptors (52-25) this season, equaling the franchise record set in 2006-07.
The Raptors also won the season series between the teams 2-1 for the first time since 2009-10.
The Raptors led by 19 points in the third quarter before the Hornets cut the margin to nine in the fourth quarter.
Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry, who finished with 21 points and six assists, boosted the lead to 14 points with a 3-pointer. Kemba Walker countered with a 3-pointer to move the Hornets within 11 points of the lead.
A dunk by Cody Zeller trimmed Toronto's lead to nine and Marvin Williams followed with a 3-pointer to reduce the lead to six points with 1:09 left.
DeRozan's driving hook shot put Toronto ahead by eight with 39.7 seconds to play.
A jump shot and a free throw by Walker cut the lead to five with 37 seconds left. DeRozan made one of two free throws with 25.5 seconds left to give Toronto a six-point margin.
Walker made a driving layup for the Hornets but missed the free throw and the lead stood at four.
Lowry missed two free throws with 20 seconds left, but the Raptors regained possession after Walker missed a shot with 11.9 seconds to play.
Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas had 12 points and 12 rebounds and Patrick Patterson and Cory Joseph each chipped in with 10 points off the bench.
Jeremy Lin led the Hornets with 21 points and added seven assists. Williams scored 15 points and Courtney Lee and Walker each had 11 points for Charlotte.
The Raptors led 26-16 after the first quarter, paced by DeRozan's eight points.
The Hornets, who fell behind by 11, crept within four points with 4:54 to play in the first half on a 3-pointer by Lin.
Consecutive 3-pointers by DeRozan and Lowry bumped the Raptors' lead to 12 with 2:39 left in the half.
The Raptors led 56-42 at the intermission. DeRozan had 17 points and Lin scored 15 first-half points for the Hornets.
Norman Powell's pull-up jumper with 7:37 lead in the third quarter gave Toronto an 18-point lead.
The Raptors' lead reached 19 points during the third quarter. The Hornets trimmed that to 13 before Patterson made a 3-pointer to close the scoring in the quarter with the Raptors leading 75-59.
Jeremy Lamb hit a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter to pull the Hornets within nine points at 75-66.
Neither team was able to score until Joseph and Lowry made consecutive shots to boost the Raptors' lead to 13 with 7:01 to play.
NOTES: Hornets G/F Nicolas Batum (left knee) did not play. C Al Jefferson (right quad), who also was listed as questionable, was in the Charlotte lineup. ... The Raptors entered Tuesday having secured at least the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs, the highest seed in franchise history. ... This will be the third season in a row that the Raptors have had home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. ... The Hornets are still playing for seeding. "If we can get home-court advantage and play well going into the playoffs, that's a big deal," Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. ... The Raptors' next game will be Thursday in Atlanta to play the Hawks. The Hornets will be in New York on Wednesday to face the Knicks.