Following a comfortable 98-81 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in front of a record crowd of 20,350, the Miami Heat marched closer to surpassing the record of consecutive wins set by the 1971-72 champion Los Angeles Lakers.
Led by some of the game’s greats, including Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Gail Goodrich, the Lakers compiled a 33-game win streak; a run that saw the eventual champions go undefeated in the months of November and December including an imposing 9-0 record on the road.
This was all achieved despite losing another Hall of Fame player Elgin Baylor to injury.
The Heat have already conquered every team in the league and set several franchise records while rattling off 19-straight victories. During their successful run, Miami has overpowered many playoff-bound teams.
Achieving 34-straight is going to be tremendously tough, even for the defending champions who possess a ferocious defence and punishing offence.
The key date is April 9, 2013. A match-up with the Milwaukee Bucks that, if the streak still remains, would be the record breaker.
So what’s next?
Awaiting Miami is a five-game road trip including two teams with records over .500 – the Bucks (16 March) and the Boston Celtics (19 March).
Both teams have wins over the Heat this season; the latter battle is sure to be a rate extremely well.
If the Heat return home unscathed, their next genuine challenge will be on 28 March against the Chicago Bulls away.
The Bulls are another team that has dealt Miami a loss this season, though it is unlikely the star point guard Derrick Rose will be back in the line-up.
If they get past the Bulls and follow it up with a victory over the young New Orleans Hornets, Miami will face the Western Conference standings leader San Antonio Spurs (1 April) – their last stop of a four-game road trip.
This match-up will be the last time the two powerhouse franchises will line-up against each other this year, unless they both reach the NBA finals (Miami won game one, 105-100 in Miami).
San Antonio is dominant in front of their fellow Texans (it will be their third straight home game). Depending on whether or not guard Tony Parker suits up, this will be the Heat’s toughest ordeal.
The Spurs went on their run during the month of February, with 11-straight wins before a surprising loss to the Detroit Pistons. They then won their next five.
Assuming Miami maintain their form and overcome those aforementioned stumbling blocks, one serious hurdle stands in the way of going into the history books: The New York Knicks.
The Knicks have the edge over their Eastern Conference counterparts with a 2-1 record, including a 104-84 victory and a 105-101 win on the road, without Carmelo Anthony in the line-up.
Coming just two days after an away game against the Spurs, the Heat will need to be at their best to overcome the New York test.
So will Miami better the ’71-72 Lakers record for consecutive wins in a season?
In a word, no. Why?
The San Antonio Spurs in Texas at the end of the month.
In that 105-100 Heat win back in November, the Spurs played without their four best players – Tim Duncan, Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green.
Coach Gregg Popovich decided to rest his starters, sending them back to the Lone Star State.
Although this didn’t impress NBA commissioner David Stern, saying that the decision by Popovich was “unacceptable,” it displayed the depth and talent that San Antonio posses.
What would the commissioner have said if the Spurs held on? Would he still have apologised to fans?
San Antonio led by five with 2:14 on the clock before the Heat went on an authoritative 12-2 run; a great effort by the backup players.
With a full team at home against a likely tired Miami Heat, the Spurs will be the ’71-72 Lakers best ally.
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