NEW YORK -- It was a day of achievement for DeMar DeRozan and the Toronto Raptors. The noon start also served as reminder of what the Raptors can expect in postseason weekend games.

DeMar DeRozan scored 35 points to become the second player in team history to reach 2,000 points in a season as Toronto reached 50 wins and secured at least the third seed in the Eastern Conference with a 110-97 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday afternoon.

DeRozan joined Vince Carter as the second Raptor to get at least 2,000 points when he converted a nifty three-point play with 3:11 left in the first quarter. Carter holds the record of 2,107 points in 1999-2000, and also totaled 2,070 in the following season and DeRozan would have had a better chance to match those figures if he did not miss seven games with a right ankle injury.

"For him to get that many points in a season is a great accomplishment," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "We try to put him in the right positions so he can score with ease but it's a team effort, to have somebody screen for him, somebody passing it to him to get him those points."

Point guard Kyle Lowry is equally impressed.

"He's never conformed to the prototypical way," Lowry said. "He's done it his way, which makes it a little bit more special and I respect him a lot the way he's approached it and done it."

At the time of his milestone, the Raptors were struggling with the early start and did not get going until the opening minutes of the fourth quarter.

DeRozan gave the Raptors (50-31) the lead for good at 76-75 on a layup with 25 seconds remaining in the third. It was his final basket of an 11-of-15 showing on his typical combination of mid-range jumpers and drives to rim.

DeRozan then watched as Lowry and four reserves helped the Raptors pull away in the opening moments of the fourth. The Raptors secured their second straight 50-win season when they scored 12 straight points in a span of about three minutes to open a 100-82 lead with 5:05 to play.

Toronto's fourth quarter showing moved it 1 1/2 games ahead of the Washington Wizards. The Raptors also are 1 1/2 games behind the Boston Celtics and should both teams finish with 51 wins, Toronto owns the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Regardless of where the Raptors finish, they can certainly expect an early afternoon game in the first round of the playoffs. In the last three postseasons, Toronto is winless in four games that began at 1 p.m. EST or earlier, including the one-point loss to the Brooklyn Nets in Game Seven in the 2014 first round.

"We've got to get ready for that because we're probably going to have an early game next week thanks to our TV schedule," Casey said. "So we've got to get our bodies and minds ready and I told the guys 'remember how this felt.' We had a tough time getting going because that's probably going to be the game we have. We've had it like the last three, four years."

Said DeRozan: "You kind of get thrown off with these early games. It's kind of an adjustment that you got to learn on the fly. So tonight was a good thing for us just in case we do play an early game."

Besides DeRozan getting the third 2,000-point season in team history, Lowry added a double-double with 17 points and 11 assists in his third game back from a 21-game absence due to a right wrist injury. Reserve Patrick Patterson added 15 and Serge Ibaka contributed 12 in his third game together with Lowry.

While the Raptors were discussing getting prepared for a playoff run, the Knicks (30-51) have surpassed 50 losses for the 14th time in team history while playing without Kristaps Porzingis (back) and Carmelo Anthony (knee).

Rookie Willy Hernangomez tied a career high with 24 points but none were in the fourth. Courtney Lee added 14 while Mindaugas Kuzminskas chipped in 12 as the Knicks were done in by missing nine of their first 11 shots in the fourth.

"It is tough," Lee said of the fourth. "It seemed like they kept getting stops. We couldn't score. They did a good job of spreading the floor and going off pick-and-rolls.

"There was a seven or eight minute stretch where we couldn't score. That was deflating.

NOTES: New York F Kristaps Porzingis (sore lower back) missed his fourth straight game. Last season, he missed the final six games with a shoulder injury. Coach Jeff Hornacek said he is unsure if Porzingis will play Wednesday against Philadelphia. "We'll just see how he feels," Hornacek said. "If he wants to play, he'll play." ... New York F Carmelo Anthony (sore left knee) also sat out for the fourth time in six games. ... Sunday marked the third game PG Kyle Lowry and F Serge Ibaka played together with the Raptors. During the first quarter of Friday's win over Miami, Lowry yelled at Ibaka for not being in the right spot in the low post, resulting in a turnover. Asked about it, coach Dwane Casey did not have any issues with it. ... Former University of Washington G Markelle Fultz, who is the projected top pick in the upcoming draft, attended the game.