On Friday, the Toronto Raptors showed exactly why they’re at the top of the Eastern Conference standings.Led by Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, Toronto treated their home fans to quite a show, defeating James Harden and the Rockets by the score of 108-105.As a result, the Raptors snapped the Rockets' 17-game win streak.Lowry dropped 30 points on 10-of-14 shooting and added three rebounds and six assists over 33 minutes. DeRozan posted 23 points on 8-of-19 shooting and added seven boards and two dimes in 37 minutes. No other Raptor scored more than 11 points.On the other end, Harden lit Toronto’s defense up for 40 points on 15-of-22 shooting and also had two rebounds and four assists in 33 minutes. No other Rocket scored more than 14 points.

Although DeRozan and Harden squared off against one another, the mutual respect between the two is evident. After Toronto’s shootaround earlier in the day, DeRozan claimed that Harden is a “lock” to win this year’s MVP award.

"He earned it," the Raptors All-Star said, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. "The things that he's been doing all year are incredible. I think he's a lock for it. He deserves it."

He also said that Harden should have been the MVP last year.

But, DeRozan admitted that his view might be a bit biased because he played AAU ball with Harden and since both stars grew up in Los Angeles.

"I knew him when he didn't have a lick of hair on his face," said DeRozan. "It just came about, man. We've grown. We talk about it a lot, to where we never thought we'd be in a position that we are today. To be able to have that type of conversation with a guy that you grew up with, that you went through every stage with, it's definitely crazy to see.”

He added, ”He was always nice. He was always nice, but none of us thought we would be where we are today. We would be lying to you if we told you we knew we would be who we are today. But like I said, to be 28 years old and be able to talk about the things we've accomplished, that's the most incredible thing."

When told about DeRozan’s comments, Harden relayed some kind words in his direction.

"That's like my brother," Harden noted. "He's playing at an all-time level too. He's out there killing. He has his team in the No. 1 seed in the East. He's doing extremely great things as well. Just to hear it from him, especially with the level he's playing at now, means a lot to me."

While the two buddies clearly have no bad blood, it would be interesting to see what would happen if they met in a best-of-seven NBA Finals. Judging by the success that both teams are having this season, that could certainly happen.