Raptors snap Rockets' 17-game win streak
The Toronto Raptors ended the Houston Rockets' 17-game win streak with a thrilling 108-105 victory at the Air Canada Centre on Friday.
Kyle Lowry scored a team-high 30 points on 10-of-14 shooting, DeMar DeRozan chipped in with 23 points and seven rebounds, while Jonas Valanciunas contributed a double-double.
Friday's game featured a clash of titans with the No. 1 ranked team from each conference playing at their absolute peak. Houston carried a league-best 17-game win streak into the game, while Toronto themselves had quietly won six straight and 13 of their last 14.
Something had to give, and it was the Raptors who made more plays in the end.
The hosts led by double digits for most of the night thanks to a smattering of threes from Lowry, but the Rockets closed the gap in the fourth. James Harden, the runaway MVP favorite, led a furious comeback by drilling a series of increasingly difficult pull-up threes en route to a game-high 40 points.
Toronto's third-ranked defense came up clutch when it mattered most, however. Valanciunas scooped up a clutch block and a key steal in the last two minutes to stop the onslaught.
The Raptors improved to 48-17 with the win, while the Rockets dropped to 51-14.