Heat's Streak by the Numbers

James and the Heat took flight (Boston Globe)

Unless you've been living under a rock since Groundhog Day, you probably heard how the Miami Heat put together an insane winning streak that reached 27 games. That's the second longest such stretch in NBA history behind only the 33-gamer submitted by the 1971-'72 Los Angeles Lakers. Those Lakers, coached by Bill Sharman and led by Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, and Pat Riley, were a team of destiny that won 69 regular season games and the NBA Finals. Four decades later, the Heat have crafted a modern day parallel to LA's legendary run, needing only another NBA title to cement their status as one of the greatest teams of all-time.

This was the kind of dominance Riley, LeBron James, and millions of basketball fans envisioned when King James declared he was taking his talents to South Beach three summers ago. From February 2nd through March 26th, a span of 53 days, the Miami Heat were undefeated. That's nearly one-third of the season. The streak began with a routine win over the Toronto Raptors to close out a four game road trip.  More than seven weeks later, the Heat's streak continued to grow. They had beaten just about every team in the NBA over that span. No matter where they went, no matter who they played, the outcome was always the same.

That is, until the Chicago Bulls stopped the streak by beating the Heat, 101-97 last night. The Bulls were without Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Richard Hamilton, and Marco Belinelli due to injuries, forcing Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer to pick up the slack. They did, combining for 49 points and 24 rebounds to lead Chicago past Miami. The Heat fell behind early, as they so often did during their winning streak, only this time they did not recover. Miami had not lost since February 1st, when the Indiana Pacers trounced them 102-89.

Here are some key facts and figures from Miami's epic winning streak:

• This winning streak marks the longest of the three-point era, surpassing the 22 game winning streak compiled by Tracy McGrady's Houston Rockets during the 2007-'08 season
• The Heat were 29-14 (.674) before their streak began. They held a half game lead over the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference and had the fourth-best record in basketball. They are now 56-15 (.788), own the NBA's top record and hold an 11.5 game cushion over the Knickerbockers
• Miami's previous longest winning streak of the season lasted just six games andwas achieved twice (from 11/15-12/1 and 12/15-12/26). The longest streak of their Big 3 era had been 12 games from 11/29-12/18 in 2010
• The Heat averaged 105.3 points per game and allowed 97.1 per game during their winning streak
• The most points they scored and allowed came in the one game during their streak that extended beyond regulation; their 141-129 double-overtime triumph over the Sacramento Kings on February 26th
• The fewest points they scored and allowed were 86 and 67, respectively, in their February 21st win over Da Bulls
• Only three of Miami's wins were decided by one possession (three points or less).  Their margin of victory exceeded ten points in 17 of their wins
• Their closest win was by one point over the Orlando Magic, of all teams, on Wednesday, March 6th. Miami rallied from a three-point deficit with 40 seconds remaining to win 97-96 and extend the win streak to 16
• Miami's most lopsided victory was a 32-point pasting of the Charlotte Bobcats (who else?) last Sunday
• LeBron James played all 27 games and averaged 27 points (how fitting), 8.1 rebounds and 8 assists per game, earning the slight edge over Kevin Durant in the MVP race. King James shot 57.5 percent from the floor, 37.4 percent from downtown and posted an average GameScore of 25.5. He also enjoyed a pair of triple-doubles on top of 13 regular double-doubles. LBJ logged at least 30 minutes in all 27 wins and had just four games in which he failed to make at least half his field goal attempts
• Dwyane Wade missed two games but played his best ball of the season during the streak, averaging 22.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. He drilled 53.6 percent of his field goal attempts and posted an average Game Score of 19.4
• Chris Bosh also missed two games, but his numbers pale in comparison to the aforementioned dynamic duo. With Wade and James at full strength, Bosh was once again relegated to third-wheel status. He averaged 15.6 points and 6 rebounds per game while converting 52.4 percent of his field goal attempts and recording four double-doubles

The Heat try to launch a new win streak tomorrow night in New Orleans when they take the court against the hapless Hornets.

Heat Outlast Celtics

In a fiercely contested rematch of last spring's Eastern Conference Finals, the Miami Heat once again came out on top. The defending champions received their rings, then proceeded to take down the Boston Celtics, 120-107, in the NBA opener on Tuesday night.

Boston led early on, but Miami was in full control for most of the second half after pulling. away in the third. The Heat built a 19 point lead with eleven minutes to go, but Boston fought back with a Leandro Barbosa fueled run in the fourth quarter. The C's closed the gap to four points with two minutes left to play. But then Boston went cold, missing all four of its field goal attempts while the Heat finished out the game on a 9-0 run to secure the win. But not before Rajon Rondo delivered a flagrant foul on Dwyane Wade by grabbing his neck as he went up to score, a move Wade later referred to as a "punk play." D-Wade clearly overreacted here; even though the game was essentially over, Rondo made the right move by preventing the lay-up with a hard foul, and that's all it was. A hard foul.

What was Wade expecting, a slap on the wrist?

Other notes:

Boston

Kevin Garnett struggled offensively, as he scored just nine points and finished the game with more turnovers (five) than field goals (four). On the bright side, he hauled in a dozen rebounds and blocked a pair of shots.

Paul Pierce did his thing, finishing with 23-5-5, drilling two triples and sinking all nine of his free throw attempts.

Brandon Bass put up a double-double with 15 points and eleven boards, six of which came on the offensive end (more than the entire Miami team). He's a great fit here, and I'm glad he re-signed.

Rondo played more than 43 minutes and stuffed the stat sheet with some gaudy numbers; 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting with 13 dimes and seven rebounds. However, nitpickers will point out that he missed both his three point attempts, went just two-of-four at the line and didn't get any steals. I think this will be the year Rondo puts it all together and produces an MVP caliber season.

Courtney Lee looked solid in his Celtics debut before foul trouble forced him to the bench, scoring eleven points on just six field goal attempts. Jason Terry was unimpressive in his first game in Celtic green; JET had turnovers than field goals and failed to connect from beyond the arc. Jeff Green, playing his first game in nearly 18 months, did nothing (three rebounds and no field goals).

Barbosa scored all 16 of his points in the fourth quarter. Talk about a one-man comeback.

Didn't see enough of rookie Jared Sullinger to form much of an opinion about him. Will have to wait for him to emerge during garbage time.

Turnovers were a problem for Boston, as they piled up 15 TOs compared to Miami's 8. When you give the Heat extra possessions, you pay the price.

The Celtics hit three treys in the first quarter and three in the fourth, but didn't hit any in the second and third quarters.


Miami

Ray Allen had an outstanding performance in his first game against his former team. Ray Ray needed only seven field goal attempts to drop 19 points off the bench. He's my early favorite for Sixth Man of the Year (assuming Kevin Martin gets hurt at some point). Rashard Lewis also looked good in his Miami debut, netting ten points and five boards in just under 19 minutes of action. He gives the Heat some much needed depth off the bench and should be in line for a solid season.

Miami's other reserves were useless; Norris Cole, Udonis Haslem and NBA Finals hero Mike Miller combined for three points and three rebounds.


Wade led all scorers with 29 points but posted the worst +/- on the Heat with his -6 (primarily because he was present for Boston's last-ditch comeback).

Mario Chalmers did a great job facilitating and finished with eleven assists.

Lebron James initiated his quest for a fourth MVP trophy by pairing ten rebounds with his 26 efficient points despite logging the fewest minutes of the Heat's starting five.

Chris Bosh went for 19 and 10, but the part of his stat line that surprised me the most was his three blocked shots. Bosh was never a good shot-blocker in Toronto but he's become even worse in Miami, where he's averaged just 0.7 swats per game. You think he'd get at least one per game by shots deflecting off his giraffe neck.