After a 108-91 victory north of the border the Miami Heat have tied the second longest winning streak in NBA history. The Heat have won 22 straight games and are showing no signs of slowing down.
Miami’s streak began on February 3 on the road against the Raptors and reached historic status on March 17 in Toronto. Miami’s last loss came on February 1 against the Indiana Pacers.
During this streak the Heat had an easy road with only half of the teams on their schedule being playoff teams. Regardless, you play who is in front of you and Miami disposed of contenders like the Thunder, Clippers, Pacers, and Grizzlies on this streak.
Miami could surpass the 2008 Houston Rockets on the all-time winning streak list Monday night in Boston. With Boston being Miami’s only respected rival and Kevin Garnett sidelined with a left thigh injury, expect the Heat to take sole possession of the second longest winning streak in the history of the NBA.
The difference between Miami and the 2008 Houston Rockets is that Miami is a championship contender so their streak means a lot more. Miami is the favorite to win the 2013 NBA championship and with this kind of momentum going into the playoffs they will be more than scary in the second season.
If the Heat can get out of Boston unscathed the basketball world will have their eyes on Miami breaking the ’72 Lakers 33-game winning streak. For Miami to break L.A.’s record they’d have to win every game until April 6 at home against Philadelphia. It’s possible that this can happen. Seven of Miami’s next eleven games are against lottery teams. The other four games are against playoff teams dealing with injuries to key players, Boston, Chicago, New York, and San Antonio. During that stretch Miami plays two sets of back-to-backs.
For the Heat to break the all-time record they’d have to win every game from now until April 9 against the Milwaukee Bucks. If there is one thing working against Miami it’s that seven of their next eleven games are on the road. In the last week of March Miami will be on the road for four straight games.
If the Heat fails to break the 1972 Lakers record it’s OK. What they have accomplished already is still monumental and enjoyable to watch.
“It's a special team,” Heat forward LeBron James said. “It's a special ride right now that we're on and I think the best thing about it is we're doing it together. We're doing it for one another and just want to try to keep it going. It's not about the streak, it's about us getting better each and every day, preparing to win each and every night and we've been fortunate to do that.”
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