Back on Feb. 1, the Miami Heat lost
at the Indiana Pacers 102-89. That was 50 days ago. Since then they have gone
on a winning streak that has seen them win in a multitude of fashions. They
have beaten the sub .500 teams as well as beaten the heavyweights of the
Eastern and Western Conference. Last week, they continued their historic
winning streak that moved them into great company.
With a 105-103 victory at the Boston
Celtics (36-33) in front of a nationally televised audience last Monday night,
the Heat (55-14),who snapped a 10-game losing streak in Boston, won their 23rd
consecutive game, which put them alone with the second longest winning streak
in NBA history. They also snapped the Celtics 11-game home winning streak,
clinched the Southeast Division and won their 11 consecutive games on the road,
which is tied for their longest streak in team history, which began on Feb. 3
at the Toronto Raptors (26-44), where the Heat won 100-85 to start this record
setting streak.
They won their 24th
straight contest and their 12th in a row on the road by coming back
from a 27-point deficit in the third quarter to notch a 98-95 victory at the
Cleveland Cavaliers (22-47).
The 12 consecutive wins away from
American Airlines Arena is now the third best stretch in team history and if
they win at their state rival Orlando Magic (18-52) this Monday night, they
will equal their second best mark for wins in a row on the road, which they
accomplished back in 2010-11 from Dec. 2 at the Cavs to Jan. 9, 2011, a 107-100
victory at the Portland Trail Blazers.
Two more victories on the road will
tie the team’s all-time mark for consecutive road wins of 14, which occurred
from Nov. 19, 1996-Dec. 29, 1996 of the 1996-97 season.
The Heat currently an NBA best 23-11
on the road this season. This is after being just .500 on the road at 11-11.
Last Friday night, the Heat pulled
off their ninth comeback of this streak when trailing at halftime turning an
11-point deficit in the second quarter and a 54-51 deficit at intermission into
a 103-89 victory over the Detroit Pistons (23-47), which sent them to their 10
consecutive losses and gave the Heat their 25th win in a row.
LeBron James, who has been on a tear
during this winning streak, had another strong performance of 25 points, eight
boards and eight assists helping, the Heat win their 16th in succession
at the American Airlines Arena.
They won their 17th
straight in their gym and 26th in a row overall by pulling off their
seventh comeback from double-digits by beating the Charlotte Bobcats (16-54)
109-77 on Sunday night. They improved to 32-3 in their gym, which ties the
Denver Nuggets for best home record in the NBA this season.
James led the Heat in scoring for the
19th time during the streak with 32 points on 11 for 14 from the
field and 10 for 11 from the free throw line, eight boards, 10 assists, three
steals and three blocks.
Center Chris Bosh scored 15 points
and had six boards. Guard Norris Cole off the bench also had 15 points, hit 3
for 4 from three-point land to go along with six assists. Ray Allen off the
bench had 14 points, seven boards and hit 4 for 5 from downtown.
The team went 13 for 30 from
three-point territory on Sunday and improved to 22-0 on the season when hitting
10-plus threes in a game.
This was also the 15th
time during the streak where the Heat has not trailed in the fourth quarter and
they improved to 26-0 at home when leading going into the fourth quarter.
They now stand just seven victories
shy of tying the 1971-72 World Champion Los Angeles Lakers, who won 33 straight
that season, going then an NBA best 69-13 in the regular season. The 1995-96
World Champion Chicago Bulls went 72-10 in the regular season, which is the
gold standard for wins in a season in NBA history.
Last Monday, the Heat surpassed the
22-game winning streak by the 2007-08 Houston Rockets with their victory at
Boston on Monday night, who had that amazing streak snapped five years to the
day by the world champs of that season at the Toyota Center 94-74.
James was sensational scoring a
team-high 37 points going 16 for 29 from the field, grabbing seven rebounds,
dishing out 12 assists, two steals and two block shots. Guard Mario Chalmers
scored 21 points hitting 4 for 5 from three-point range. Dwyane Wade chipped in
with 16 points, boards, six assists and three steals and center Chris Bosh had
13 points and five boards.
“We knew no matter whose in uniform
for those guys, they got a championship DNA and we got work for it,” James, who
hit the game-clinching shot with 10.5 seconds left, said to ESPN’s Chris
Broussard after the game.
“We was down a lot of times tonight,
more than we would have like to be, but we got enough defensive stops, executed
offensively and I was able to make one more play down the stretch.”
James rose to the moment again against
his former team on Wednesday night with 25 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists,
three steals and two blocks, garnering his fourth triple-double of the season
and the 36th of his career.
“We dig deep for this one,” James,
who is averaging 26.9 points, 8.1 boards and 7.8 assists during the 25-game
winning streak, said to Sun Sports Jason Jackson after the victory on Wednesday
in Cleveland.
“We already know like I said this
morning, every team is going to give us a good shot no matter their record. No
matter whose out on the floor. Were gonna get their best and we should enjoy
that. We should embrace that because it picks up our level of intensity as
well. It’s good for us to dig down once again and get another road win.”
Here is what the Heat has faced in three
of their last four victories.
On Monday, the Celtics used a 17-0
run in the first quarter to take a 31-19 lead after the first stanza. Forward
Jeff Green scored 14 of his career-high 43 points in the first. The Heat
trailed by as many as 17 in the first half, which was the biggest deficit they
faced during the winning streak. The Heat used a 15-6 run to close the game to
59-53 at halftime.
They trailed 96-83 in the fourth
quarter, but used a 22-7 run to close the game and get the victory.
The Heat got off to an even tougher
start on Wednesday night in Cleveland. For starters, the game was delayed at
the start for 35 minutes because of a leak in a carbon dioxide container inside
the Quicken Loans Arena scoreboard used during the introduction of the starting
lineups for the home town Cavs.
When the game did get underway, the
Heat got off to another slow start getting outscored 32-24 in the first
quarter. They were then outscored 23-10 in the second stanza. The 34-point
first half was the lowest scoring output for a half this season for the Heat.
At the 7:44 mark of the third
quarter, the team trailed 67-40 and stared in the face the end of the second
best winning streak in NBA history.
After that the Heat put their game
into high gear going on a 37-10 run breaching the 7:03 mark of the third
quarter and the 10:26 mark of the fourth quarter. The run was capped by a
three-pointer by James that nodded the game at 77 apiece, which was followed by
a star down to some of the 20,652 in attendance.
The team pushed the lead to nine at
95-86, but the Cavs, who played without guard Kyrie Irving, rookie Dion Waiters
and center Anderson Varejao, used a 9-1 run, that was capped by two free throws
by forward Tristan Thompson, who scored 18 points and eight rebounds to close
the gap to 96-95 with 44 seconds remaining.
After Cavs guard Wayne Ellington, who
led the team with 20 points, missed a step-back jumper with 5.2 seconds left,
James was fouled and he sank two free throws that gave Miami a 98-95 lead.
The Cavs got one last chance, but a
contested three-pointer by C.J. Miles fell short and the greatest comeback in
Heat history and in James’ career was complete.
One other thing that happened in this
game, a young fan ran onto the court in the fourth quarter wearing a T-shirt
that said: “We Miss You, 2014 Comeback,” which was in reference to James’
possible free agency as he can opt out of his contract after the 2013-14 season
and possibly come back to the Cavs, where he played the first seven seasons of
his career.
James did not get distracted by the moment
as he patted the young fan on the head as the building security rushed to the
court to take the young man away.
Their comeback on Sunday night versus
the Bobcats came much earlier in the game as they used a 15-0 spurt to turn an
11-point deficit into a 23-19 after the first and they never looked back.
“I’d rather come out the way we’ve
been coming out and finish strong than to come out strong and finish weak, but
we need to have some balance,” James said to Jackson after the win versus the
Pistons last Friday night.
“We’ve got to do a better job at
getting more stops, but were a team that just wears teams down and whatever the
case may be, we’ve been winning so I’ll take it.”
The team has shown during this
26-game winning streak that they can win in a multitude of ways.
On 15 occasions, they have won by 10
points or more. On seven occasions, they have had to come from behind by
double-digits to claim victory.
Aside from the four comebacks wins
the Heat had a week ago, back on Mar. 3 at the New York Knicks, the Heat had to
climb out of a 16-point hole to win 99-93. On Feb. 12 versus the Portland Trail
Blazers, the Heat came back from a 14-point deficit to win 117-104. On Feb. 20
at the Atlanta Hawks, the Heat overcame an 11-point deficit as well as a
10-point hole entering the fourth quarter to win 103-90.
Another big reason why the Heat have
been able to run off this incredible number of victories in a row is their
ability to start games strong and the emphatic way they have finished.
They have outscored their opponents
by a plus 52 in the first quarter, by a plus 37 in the second quarter, by a
plus 45 in the third quarter and an incredible plus 148 in the fourth quarter.
Last Sunday afternoon, the Heat
outscored the Raptors 32-14 in the fourth quarter, with Ray Allen scoring 16 of
his 20 points of the bench in the final period.
The previous Monday night at Boston,
the Heat outscored the Celtics 27-21 in the fourth stanza, with James scoring
six points and dishing out three assists in the final five minutes as the Heat
went on a 13-4 run to claim victory.
The win gave Allen his second victory
over the team he helped to lead to their 17th title five seasons
ago, which is the most championships in NBA history.
“We wanted to get this one obviously
for our brother Ray and we felt bad it took us a second time,” Heat head coach
Erik Spoelstra, whose team lost at Boston 100-98 in double-overtime back on
Jan. 27, said on Monday night. “We do take that very seriously.”
Last Wednesday night at Cleveland,
the Heat outscored the Cavs 30-18 in the fourth as James scored 14 points,
grabbed seven boards, dished out three assists and had two steals in period
leading the Heat to a perfect 5-0 road trip which he dubbed “The Reunion Tour,”
as the Heat made stops in Milwaukee, where Wade played his collegiate ball at
Marquette; at the Raptors, twice during this streak where Bosh played his first
seven seasons and at the Celtics where Allen played the past five seasons alongside
Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, who missed Monday’s tilt because of a left
abductor strain.
They completely flipped the script
from the first half on Wednesday, where they shot just 37.5 percent from the
floor as the Cavs shot 50 percent; they made just 2 for 10 from three-point
range and were out-rebounded 27-12. In the second half, the Heat outscored the
Cavs 64-40; they shot 50 percent from the field, made 10 for 19 from distance
and out-rebounded the Cavs 22-15. All 12 of Miami’s threes in the game came
from James (3 for 7), Chalmers (3 for 6), who scored 17 points, Shane Battier
(3 for 7) and Allen (3 for 6).
The Heat outscored the Pistons last
Friday night 30-21 in the fourth quarter and on Sunday night outscored the
Bobcats 36-20 in the final stanza.
Before this winning streak, the Heat
had a 0-6 against the Chicago Bulls and the aforementioned Knicks and Pacers.
On Feb. 21st, the Heat won
their third match-up against the conference rival Bulls 86-67. In their third
with the Pacers, this time in Miami, the Heat ran the Pacers off the court in a
105-91 victory.
When teams have a major run like
this, they tend to have a catalyst that bonds and holds them together in the
best of times and the toughest of times. More than anything else they embrace
the challenge of getting better each day.
James, Wade and Bosh are the clear
headliners and deservingly so for the Heat, but its guys like Battier who are
major catalyst for the team’s ability to win this number of games in a row.
Back on Feb. 3rd after the
Heat win at the Raptors, the team instead of flying back to Miami right away
spent the afternoon at a local bar to watch Super Bowl XLVII between the
Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers. During that time, Battier said
that this team had the makings of something special.
If anyone would know about being the
part of the makings of a special team who can come together and win a great
number of games in a row, it would be the former All-American out of Duke
University.
How so? He is the only player to be
on two teams that have won 20-plus games in succession. This year’s Heat team
as well as the aforementioned Rocket team from five years ago. He also was part
of the Duke Blue Devil team that won 32 games in a row his sophomore season of
1998-99. That streak came to an end in the NCAA National Championship Game
against the University of Connecticut Huskies led by current Bulls guard
Richard “Rip” Hamilton.
Another part of the bond a team that
has success like this shares is being able to sacrifice for the betterment of
the team.
Besides signing Allen this past
off-season in free agency, the Heat also signed forward Rashard Lewis. So far
he as well as two other key cogs to last year’s championship team swingman Mike
Miller and center Joel Anthony have played sparingly this season, but have not
griped about at all.
They understand that they will be
needed when the drive for back-to-back titles gets underway next month.
Miller, who started in place of Wade
on Sunday, who was sidelined due to soreness in his right knee, had six points,
hitting 2 for 6 from three-point range, grabbed three boards and dished out
four assists.
Wade, who is questionable to play
tonight at the Magic has averaged 22.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists on
54.1 percent from the floor during the streak.
The Heat even with this incredible
winning steak understand their chances of winning a second title team hinge on
the ability of James and Wade to take care of business in the clutch.
Throughout James’ splendid career,
which has seen him win the Most Valuable Player Award in three of the last four
seasons and his first championship a year ago, he has often been criticized for
not taking care of business in the clutch.
Throughout this streak, he has put
that accusation to rest. On Monday, he hit the game-winning jumper over Green.
“It means a lot the simple fact that
we got better once again. This is a hostile environment and for us to come in
here and get a big win on the road today was awesome,” James said on Monday to
Broussard.
On Mar. 6th, James got his
team over the finish line when he scored a left-handed game-winning layup with
3.2 seconds left to give the Heat a 97-96 win versus the Magic.
James shot a pair of three’s about 90
seconds earlier and he said after the win to Jackson, “I had no intention of
shooting another jumper.”
With 26 straight wins behind them,
the question is when will this magical carpet ride end? Next on the horizon is
another tilt with the state rival Magic. That will be followed with another
showdown at the Bulls on Wednesday. After a contest with the Hornets this
Friday evening, they will take on the West leading San Antonio Spurs, who they
defeated earlier in the season 105-100 in South Florida. The Spurs played that
nationally televised contest without their “Big 3 of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili
and Tony Parker and Danny Green, who head coach Greg Popovich sent back to San
Antonio in his words for the best interest of the team.
To put into context what the Heat are
chasing in terms of all-time wins in a row, coming into last Friday’s action,
the Heat during the streak had a point differential of 10.9. The 1971-72 Lakers
who won 33 games in succession had point differential of 16.0. The Heat is
averaging 105.1 points a game during their win streak. The Lakers averaged
123.3 points a contest during their winning streak. The Lakers had 17 victories
by 15 points or more and had only two victories by six points or less. The Heat
have garnered only seven wins by 15-plus points during this historic stretch,
but have eight victories by six points or fewer.
“We didn’t think we were going to
lose to anyone and I’m sure Miami is approaching it the same way,” Hall of
Famer and former Laker player and executive Jerry West, who is currently a
consultant for the Golden State Warriors and played on that 1971-72 Laker team.
“It wouldn’t shock me at all if they break
this record. It would not and I think the other thing is it really shows you
what an incredibly dynamic player that LeBron James is.”
No matter how long this streak
continues, the Miami Heat has etched their names into the NBA history books.
They hope put an exclamation point to this story in June with another
championship and join the aforementioned 1971-72 Lakers and the 1970-71
Milwaukee Bucks as the only teams to win over 20 games in a row during the
regular season and capture the Larry O’Brien trophy. If they do win it all, it
would make it back-to-back titles.
Information, statistics and quotations
are courtesy of 3/18/13 6:30 p.m. edition of NBA TV’s “The Beat” with Vince
Cellini, Sekou Smith, David Aldridge and reporter for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel Ira Winterman; 3/19/13 1 a.m. edition of
ESPN 2’s “NBA Tonight” with Cole Wright and Chris Mullin; 3/19/13 3 a.m.
edition of NBA TV’s “Gametime” with Vince Cellini, Chris Webber and Brent
Barry; 3/21/13 2 a.m. edition of ESPN 2’s “NBA Tonight” with Jonathan Coachman
and Tim Legler; 3/21/13 2 a.m. edition of NBA TV’s “Gametime” with Rick Kamla,
Nate McMillan and Rick Mahorn; 3/23/13 3:30 a.m. edition of NBA TV’s “Gametime”
with Jared Greenberg and Ron Thompson; 3/24/13 2 a.m. edition of NBA TV’s “Gametime”
with Rick Kamla, Ron Thompson and Duane Ferrell; 3/25/13 7 a.m. edition of NBA
TV’s “Gametime” with Larry Smith, Alvin Gentry and Brent Barry; www.espn.go.com/nba/stats/standings/schedule/miami-heat;
www.nba.com; Sun Sports broadcast of the Miami
Heat at Cleveland Cavaliers on 3/20/13 at 7 p.m. with Eric Reid and Tony
Fiorentino; 3/22/13 contest of the Detroit Pistons at the Miami Heat on NBA TV
with the broadcast done by Sun Sports commentators of Eric Reid and Tony
Fiorentino.
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