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Raptors top Hornets for franchise-best 49 wins

Apr 16, 2015 - 6:12 AM Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Kyle Lowry had 26 points and seven assists and the Toronto Raptors defeated the Charlotte Hornets 92-87 on the final day of the regular season Wednesday.

Jonas Valanciunas netted 18 points, while DeMar DeRozan added 16 points and six assists for the Raptors (49-33), who finished the season with a franchise- record 49 wins.

"It means a lot," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "We're not satisfied. We're not done yet."

Toronto got the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference following the Chicago Bulls' win over the Atlanta Hawks. The Raptors could've secured the No. 3 seed with a Bulls loss. They will face the fifth-seeded Washington Wizards in the first round.

Troy Daniels finished with 24 points to lead Charlotte (33-49), which ended the season with a six-game losing streak.

"We turned the ball over and we didn't hit open shots that we normally hit," said Daniels. "That's just the tale of our season."

The Hornets, who were seeking consecutive playoff appearances for the first time since a three-year run from 2000-02, held the No. 7 seed on March 8, but lost 16 of their last 21 games.

The Hornets overcame a 10-point deficit early in the second quarter following a 14-2 run. Daniels knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and netted eight straight points at one point during the surge, which was capped on a Gerald Henderson floater for a 40-38 Charlotte advantage midway through the frame.

Toronto, though, ripped off the next 10 points to regain control and was never seriously threatened again.

Valanciunas recorded the final two baskets of the swing to give the Raptors a 48-40 margin with 2:40 to go until the half. DeRozan nailed a turnaround fadeaway at the horn to extend the spread to 55-44 at the break.

The Raptors were up 78-67 after three quarters and led by as many as 17 points in the final period en route to the easy win.

Game Notes

Toronto surpassed last season's win total of 48 ... The Raptors took just four free throws and made all of them, while the Hornets were 15-of-16 from the charity stripe ... Kemba Walker scored 17 points for Charlotte.