WHILE the sellout crowd left no doubt it came to watch Kobe Bryant say goodbye to Canada, Terrence Ross took full advantage of his first start this season.

    The former NBA slam dunk champion proved a spark plug with 22 points, including a team-high nine in the fourth quarter, as the Toronto Raptors put two tough home losses in the rear view mirror and beat the Los Angeles Lakers 102-93 Monday night.

    Kyle Lowry scored 27 points for the Raptors, and Bismack Biyombo had a career-high 15 points with 13 rebounds.

    But it was Ross’ strong, one-handed slam that finally gave Toronto the lead for good with 6:55 to go, and the Raptors quickly went on an 11-0 run to remove any doubt about the final outcome.

    Ross started in place of injured forward DeMarre Carroll.

    “He was great and that is the T we need on a nightly basis,’’ teammate DeMar DeRozan said. “When he does that it makes our job a lot easier.’’

    In what was almost certainly his last NBA appearance in Toronto, Bryant shot 8 of 16 for 21 points as the Raptors swept the season series from the Lakers for the first time.

    The crowd of 20,163, the largest ever at Air Canada Center to watch the five-time NBA champion, certainly showed its appreciation for his 20 years in a Lakers uniform.

    “Wow! Wow!’’ Bryant said afterward. “It felt absolutely amazing. Sitting on the bench and they started chanting, ‘We want Kobe!’ (I was like), give me 5 minutes.’’

    Bryant, who announced his plans to retire after this season, has averaged 27 points in 33 career games against the Raptors. He’s scored 891 points against them, fifth all-time among opponents. And he has reached 40 points five times versus Toronto, more than any other player.

    Bryant was given a standing ovation when Lakers coach Byron Scott removed him for the final time with 24.6 seconds remaining.

    “It’s a little bit of everything to see him walking away from the game, especially someone I idolized and grew up watching,’’ said DeRozan, raised in the Los Angeles area. “I’m honored to have the opportunity just to compete against him.

    “When I’m old I can add in stories that I played against Kobe, like a lot of older guys do about Michael Jordan.’’

    After managing only five points in Sunday’s loss at Detroit, where he was suffering from a stomach flu, Bryant looked much more like his old self — shooting 50 percent from the floor for the first time this season.

    “He rebounded the ball, played much better under control, took some great shots,’’ Scott said. “We had some great looks all night long, we just didn’t knock them down; I like the pace that we played at much better as well.’’(SD-Agencies)