In a possible NBA Finals preview, the Rockets' valiant comeback effort fell just short Friday night in a 108-105 loss in Toronto. MVP frontrunner James Harden scored 40 points on a ridiculous 15-of-22 shooting, but Kyle Lowry nearly matched him with 30 points on 10-of-14 FG and 7-of-9 from behind the arc. - The loss snapped Houston's NBA-best winning streak at 17 games, as the Rockets fell to 51-14 on the season. - Our postgame show breaks down the Harden-Lowry battle and all of the other the key storylines, including strength by Clint Capela (13/13) against Jonas Valanciunas, an underwhelming night from Chris Paul (13 points, 5-of-13 FG), and the sluggish early defense that allowed Toronto to race out to a 19-point lead. - The third and final segment of the show explores the convergent paths of Houston and Toronto, including why many of the reasons the 2017-18 Rockets deserve the benefit of the doubt for prior playoff shortcomings apply to the 2017-18 Raptors as well. - #Rockets #NBA #Raptors - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices