Miami Heat Beat Atlanta Hawks For 19th Straight Victory
The Miami Heat soundly beat the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night. The Heat have now won 19 straight games and look as if they are going to be cruising into the playoffs as the number one seed in the Eastern conference of the NBA.
The 98-81 victory comes just two days after the Heat won their 18th straight game over the Indiana Pacers by a 14 point margin (105-91). During the streak, the Heat have been putting teams away more often than not as this was the 12th time in 19 games that Miami has won by double digits.
Perhaps for the first time, some of the players in Miami are acknowledging that this streak is something to take notice of. Lebron James was perhaps the first to acknowledge that fact after the game.
Standing at his locker his team’s latest victory, James said, “‘Let’s be honest, guys, we’re not sitting here and saying this is not something special. This is an unbelievable streak that we’re on.”
The Miami Heat were lead on Tuesday by Dwyane Wade’s 23 points, six assists, and four rebounds. James contributed 15 points with seven assists and seven rebounds.
Wade made the comment that while their offense has been top notch during the streak, “leading with our defense has been the key for us.” Tonight the team will hope that their defense can continue to lead as they look for their 20th straight win.
Only three teams have won 20 straight games in a season in NBA history, and Miami is slowly creeping towards the all time record for consecutive wins. The 1970-1971 Milwaukee Bucks won 20, the 2007-2008 Houston Rockets won 22 straight, and the 1971-1972 Los Angeles Lakers hold the league record for consecutive wins in a season with 33 straight.
The Miami Heat are now just 14 games away from tieing the NBA record and, should they get to that mark, would be in line to attempt to set the record on April 9th against the Milwaukee Bucks.
