TORONTO -- DeMar DeRozan leaned over Kyle Lowry after the final buzzer sounded to end the Toronto Raptors season -- Lowry was laying distraught on the floor, his face in his hands. Vincent Kompany Manchester City Jersey . DeRozan was above him, speaking with urgency. It was a moment that said volumes about this young Raptors squad: their unexpected record-breaking season and their thrilling run through the playoffs, and the bonds they built along the way. "Thats my man," Lowry said of DeRozan. "He said, If anybody is taking that shot, Im living and dying with you taking that shot, or trying to attempt to get that shot off. It was a great brotherly moment." Lowry, who led the Raptors with 28 points Sunday, had just been blocked on a shot at the buzzer, giving the Brooklyn Nets a 104-103 Game 7 victory and ending the Raptors first playoff run in six seasons. "The play was to get me the ball, but they did a good job of trapping me, and I didnt get that shot off that I wanted to get off," said Lowry. Amir Johnson had a playoff-high 20 points plus 10 rebounds before fouling out of the game with 7:53 to play. DeRozan added 18 points for the Raptors, who were hoping to see the second round of the playoffs for just the second time in the franchises 19-year history. Patrick Patterson finished with 16 points, while Terrence Ross had 11. "Im proud of our guys," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said afterward. "Nobody gave them a snowballs chance in you-know-where to be here. Each game (in the series), a young player grew and learned something. "This group has a lot of stuff in front of them, a lot of basketball in front of them. This organizations in a great spot. Theyre going to be good." Still, it was a heartbreaking ending to a season that began with low expectations but ended with such high hopes, the remarkable turnaround coming after the seven-player trade in December that sent Rudy Gay to Sacramento. The Raptors went on to record a franchise-high 48 wins, claim the Atlantic Division title and earn the No. 3 seed in the East. "Its definitely tough to take this loss, but we had a helluva fight, man," said DeRozan, holding his infant daughter Diar, clad in a tiny No. 10 jersey with a big red bow in her hair. "Nobody picked us to make it this far, to win these many games." A one-point game was a fitting ending to a season-long battle between these two teams. The total scores were identical -- 1070-1070 -- over the 10 games played. Toronto, desperate to keep its season going, played like it was feeling the pressure for much of the afternoon, trailing by as much as 12 points in the third quarter in front of an Air Canada Centre crowd that was hungry for a playoff series win. They trailed 81-73 going into the fourth, but a Toronto team that has been so strong down the stretch all season long pulled within five on a basket by Lowry with 7:20 to play. With the fans on their feet for the final couple of minutes left, the Raptors kept their foot on the pedal and it was a three-point game with 22 seconds left. Lowry drove to the hoop for a basket to cut the deficit to a point, but Shaun Livingston made two free throws to put Brooklyn back up by three with 13 seconds to play. Ross answered with a basket, and then stole the ball off Livingston with six seconds left. Lowry drove to the rim on the Raptors final possession, but three Nets players clogged the lane, and it was game over. "I just told him, Dont worry about it," said DeRozan, who ran to Lowry after buzzer. "I can sleep at night knowing he took that shot. I can live with that. Dont be down on yourself, thats what I was telling him. I told him without him we wouldnt even be in that situation." The capacity crowd of 20,457 chanted "Lets go Raptors!" as the dejected players left the court. Joe Johnson scored 26 points to lead the Nets, who will face the two-time defending champion Heat beginning Tuesday in Miami. Marcus Thornton finished with 17. Deron Williams had 13 points, Kevin Garnett had 12 and Paul Pierce 10. "It feels so much better when you do it on the road because you know you earned it," said Pierce, who was acquired along with Garnett in the off-season in the Nets plan to win an NBA title. "Everybody is against you. I cant say some of the things they were calling me out there. You were against not only 15,000 in the building, you were against the 15,000 outside. Nobody is with you." Lowry lingered long at his locker after the game. He arrived at the press conference still dressed in her jersey, his two-year-old son Karter at his side. Asked what was going through his mind he said: "Whats not? Its a lot of things that could have been done differently, but this season has been a great season. Ive had the best core group of teammates that Ive ever had in my life, in my career. . . its just a lot. "Mad, frustrated. But understanding that this is only a stepping stone for my growth." The Air Canada Centre and its fans resembled a massive Maple Leaf -- fans in the end sections wore red "We The North" shirts, while fans in the middle sections wore white. Drake, former Raptor Charles Oakley, and Toronto Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf and his wife Elisha Cuthbert sat courtside. Coach Casey was forced to take the subway to the game. He got stuck in traffic due to road closures for the Toronto Marathon, and did a U-turn and headed for the subway. Pictures of Casey -- dressed in a black Canada Goose bomber jacket with black Raptors T-shirt -- surfaced on Twitter soon after. Casey, whose contract expires after this season, said his players will draw inspiration from the series, saying theyll be in the gym on warm summer nights thinking about how close they came. "We would have loved to have been there. We put ourselves in a position, one shot, one free throw, one offensive rebound here or there. That close," Casey said, holding up two fingers. "Thats what I told the team. We were right there." Lowry becomes a free agent on July 1, but when asked about his future, he said his mind was still on the series and its ending. DeRozan said he hasnt talked to Lowry about his future. "I dont need to say nothing to him," DeRozan said. "Im not worried about that, the relationship Kyle and I have, he knows. I dont have to say much. Why would he leave? Thats my opinion, thats how I look at it." Raptors versus Nets made for a spirited first-round series since before the first game even tipped off, beginning when the Nets sat their starters at the end of the regular season in order to drop to sixth in the East to face the Raptors -- whom they saw as easier prey than Chicago. Toronto general manager Masai Ujiri fired a shot back, dropping his famous F-bomb about Brooklyn when addressing the Maple Leaf Square crowd prior to Game 1. Sunday afternoon, some 10,000 fans packed the sunny Maple Leaf Square and spilled into roads leading into it to watch the game on the giant screen outside the ACC. Ujiri addressed the fans once again. This time he would only say: "You know how I feel." Tim Leiweke, the president of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, also addressed the crowd. "The other night the whole team, they put you in the locker-room before the game so we could understand what were playing for," Leiweke told the fans. "Tonight, today, we play for you. God bless you." Prime Minister Stephen Harper posted on Twitter: "Great effort (at)Raptors! Came up short but were all looking forward to next season. .WeTheNorth .NothernUprising .RTZ" Vince Carter led the Raptors past the New York Knicks and into the second round of the playoffs in 2001, where they lost the Philadelphia 4-3. Toronto missed its first three shots but then calmed down and a driving Greivis Vasquez jumper with two minutes to go in the first quarter gave the Raptors a six-point lead. They went into the second up 28-26. The Raptors allowed the Nets to shoot 67 per cent in the second, and Brooklyn went up by 10 on long pullup jumper by Livingston with 29 seconds left. The Nets led 61-53 at halftime. Toronto pulled to within six points on a driving layup by Lowry with 6:10 left in the third, but couldnt build any momentum, and the Nets were back up by 12 less than three minutes later. The Nets took an eight-point lead into the fourth. Arijanet Muric Manchester City Jersey . The mood in Seattle was electrified as the parade featuring the NFL champions began near the Space Needle and made its way to CenturyLink Field, the home of the team. At a ceremony inside the stadium, the team thanked its loyal followers -- the 12th Man -- capping a day of boisterous celebration that drew an estimated 700,000 revelers to Seattle. Aymeric Laporte Manchester City Jersey . 8 Sergio Parisse for its penultimate Six Nations match against Ireland at Lansdowne Road. http://www.authenticmanchestercityshop.com/Authentic-Raheem-Sterling-Manchester-City-Jersey/ . With newly minted president of hockey operations Trevor Linden looking on from above one day after being handed the keys to the franchise, it was more of the same on Thursday night.SAN ANTONIO -- Doug McDermott scored in bunches and Ethan Wragge delivered the critical 3-pointers. Together they kept Creighton marching on, right back where theyd promised theyd be. McDermott scored 30 points and Wragge made three huge momentum-changing shots in the second half, sending No. 3 seed Creighton to a tough 76-66 win over No. 14 Louisiana-Lafayette on Friday in the West Regional. And with the win, the Bluejays advance to the third round the NCAA tournament, the very spot theyve been forced out the last two years. "It feels great to be back," McDermott said. "This is what I came back for." It certainly didnt come easy. McDermott had a double-double by halftime but went scoreless for nearly 14 minutes of the second half, leaving it to Wragges long shots to bail out the Bluejays from a potential upset by Ragin Cajuns, who attacked Creighton (27-7) with fearless defence and rebounding. Sun Belt tournament champion Louisiana-Lafayette (23-12) led 50-48 before Wragge struck from long range to spark Creightons push that finally put it away. "We got away with one today," McDermott said. "We have a veteran team and showed that down the stretch." The win also means the Creighton family stays together on the court for a few more days at least. McDermott opted against going to the NBA after last season to play one more year with his father, Creighton coach Greg McDermott. Everything is paying off so far. Dougs senior season has been nothing short of individually spectacular as the nations leading scorer is a favourite for just about every national player of the year award. Hes also now scored at least 30 points in four of Creightons last five games. The question is, just how far can he carry the Bluejays through the next few weeks before his college career is finally over? Louisiana-Lafayette hadnt been to the NCAA tournament since 2000 and certainly werent intimidated by McDermott. Junior guard Elfrid Payton scored 24 points and took the lead in defending him, a tenacious effort that stifled Creightons star for much of the second hallf. Philippe Sandler Manchester City Jersey. "Coming into the game we felt like it was in reach. From the opening tip we got on a good run, took the lead," Payton said. "I think I did a good job keeping of him uncomfortable." McDermott finally put the dagger in the game with a long 3-pointer with 2:03 to play that put Creighton ahead 71-64. As soon as the final buzzer sounded, he clapped his hands, exhaled and high-fived Wragge under the basket. "A lot of crazy things have happened in this tournament," Greg McDermott said. "You have to survive and advance." Ottawa guard Jahenns Manigat added six points and three assists for Creighton. Creighton looked tight, perhaps because of the pressure to push (or ride) McDermott as far as they can go. The Bluejays, one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country, missed their first six attempts from long range and struggled to get the ball to McDermott on some of his quick cuts to the basket. McDermott did whatever he could, slipping into seams for layups and gathering 10 first half rebounds, to keep the Bluejays going. He scored nine in a row in one burst but just as often was left wanting the ball when teammates couldnt find him with the quick pass when he was open. Louisiana-Lafayettes Shawn Long blocked a McDermott shot, but sent the ball so fall it fell right to Creighton guard Austin Chatman for a 3-pointer. The Ragin Cajuns answered with Paytons 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut Creightons lead to 39-33 at halftime. The block was the statement that Louisiana-Lafayette had no plans to step aside. The Ragin Cajuns stayed aggressive and took their first lead of the second half at 48-46 when 6-foot-6, 325-pound Center J.J. Davenport posted up before hitting a soft fall away jumper with just under 13 minutes to play. Wragge struggled to find his stroke until popping three in a row. His last one put Creighton up by six before Chatman converted a 3-point play and McDermott closed it out. "We lost Wragge," Louisiana-Lafayette coach Bob Marlin said. "Thats the guy we were concerned about." ' ' '