TORONTO -- The Toronto Raptors continue to set new standards for themselves.

They held on to defeat the Charlotte Hornets 96-90 on Tuesday to add to their club record for overall victories at 52 and they also equaled the team record of 30 home wins set in 2006-07.

They did it in familiar fashion. DeMar DeRozan led the way with 26 points, six assists and seven rebounds and Kyle Lowry backed him up with 21 points -- 12 in the fourth quarter when the Hornets made a big push -- and six assists.

The Hornets outscored the Raptors 31-21 in the fourth quarter.

"That was an old Eastern Conference knockdown, drag it out, knock ‘em, sock ‘em game," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "Not a lot of offense from us, missed a lot, had a lot of open looks and a lot of turnovers in crucial situations. But again we found a way."

"We didn't come out with the same juice we needed to in the first half and created a big hole for ourselves," said Hornets point guard Jeremy Lin, who scored 21 and dished out seven assists. "From there you've just got to kind of play perfect. We spent a lot of energy trying to work our way back into it. We didn't come out with the defensive energy we needed to. That's the bottom line, the key to the game. There was never a point where I felt like we were defending the way we feel we're capable of."

The Raptors (52-25), who led by as many as 19 points during the third quarter, also won the season series between the teams, 2-1, for the first time since 2009-10.

The Hornets (44-33), who have lost two in a row, chipped away in the fourth quarter. 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 Hornets guard Kemba 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.

"I would actually say the last four minutes we did a great job," Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. "We did everything we had to, we got the stops we needed and we executed the way we needed. We did a great job. When you dig yourself that big a hole against a team as good as this, you know it's just hard because they are going to make some plays."

Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas added 12 points and 12 rebounds and Cory Joseph had 11 points, while Patrick Patterson chipped in with 10 points off the bench.

Williams added 15 points for Charlotte and Courtney Lee and Walker each had 11 points for Charlotte.

"We just have to be more disciplined at the end," DeRozan said. "When we are going against a playoff team that's definitely fighting for home court, you can't let up. We understood that they were going to fight to the end."

"I think we just got unfocused," Patterson said.

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.