The Miami Heat really wanted their 23rd straight win bad. It puts them in elite company as the team with sole possession of the second longest winning streak in NBA History.
Taking a historic step with their 23rd straight victory that puts them all alone in second place among the longest winning streaks in NBA history. Only the 1971-72 Lakers’ streak of 33 straight tops this one.
But the win last night over the Boston Celtics wasn’t easy. In fact for the majority of the game it looked like the Heat’s streak was over as the Celtics were dominating them on both ends of the floor. And the Celtics were doing it without Kevin Garnett in the lineup.
Maybe that was part of the reason the Heat got down early, assuming the Celtics without KG would just roll over and let them get their 23rd straight win.
But the defending champions finally woke up, and battled back hard in the late third and fourth quarters. They wouldn’t have gotten it done if it weren’t for clutch shots from Mario Chalmers and Lebron James late in the game to seal the win. In fact one made three pointer at the buzzer for the Celtics would have ended the Heat’s streak.
Lebron felt that the close win on the road helped the team grow:
“It means a lot to what we’re trying to build. Boston is a tough-minded team on the road, it’s a hostile environment. We grew again tonight and that’s big for our team.”
After the game Heat coach Erik Spoelstra reflected a bit on the significance of the win for not only the team, but personally for former Celtic Ray Allen heading back to Boston:
“We wanted to get this one for our brother, for Ray [Allen], and we felt bad that it took us until the second time. We do take that very seriously, that every place that we’ve gone we’ve been able to take care of business for the guys, knowing that it’s emotional, knowing that it will mean something to them.
So the Heat’s streak stays alive at 23 games. Where will it end? Can they catch the 1971-72 Lakers streak of 33 games?
