Raptors 93, Nets 87
DeMar DeRozan scored a season-high 36 points and host Toronto held off a furious comeback to snuff out Brooklyn's bid for the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Rudy Gay had 26 points and 10 rebounds as the Raptors won their third straight and avoided a season sweep by snapping the Nets' four-game win streak.
Deron Williams scored 30 points and Brook Lopez added 16 for Brooklyn, which never led and trailed by as many as 21 points before trimming a 20-point deficit to two with just over 4 1/2 minutes remaining. The Nets will open the playoffs at home as the fourth seed against either Atlanta or Chicago.
DeRozan scored 14 points in the final quarter, including a 3-pointer that pushed the lead back to eight points with 2:18 remaining after the Nets had closed to 77-75.
Brooklyn, which entered trailing Indiana by two games with three to play for the third seed, pulled within four points on two more occasions on 3-pointers by Williams and Joe Johnson before DeRozan buried a pair of decisive free throws with 15.3 seconds left.
GAME NOTEBOOK: DeRozan was 3-of-4 from behind the arc, the first time he's hit three 3-pointers in a game since nailing four against Milwaukee on Feb. 8, 2012. ... Williams had his fourth 30-point game in the last six thanks to a 22-point second half. ... Raptors rookie C Jonas Valanciunas (neck) was sidelined for the second game in a row while Nets F Gerald Wallace (leg) sat out his second straight.