Miami Heat Grab 22nd Straight Win, Look to Continue Against the Boston Celtics

The Miami Heat rolled onto to their 22nd straight win on Sunday after defeating the Toronto Raptors 108-91. They are now tied with the Houston Rockets for 22 wins from their 2007-2008 season but the record lies with the Los Angeles Lakers’ 1971-1972 season at 33 victories.

In the high-scoring game, LeBron James had 22 points, 12 rebounds and a career-best No. 32 double-double for the season. Dwyane Wade added 24 points with nine assists while Ray Allen contributed 20 points (16 in the final quarter) and Chris Bosh had 18 points.

LeBron James goes up against his nemesis on Monday…

For the Heat (51-14), win No. 23 could come on Monday against its rival, the Boston Celtics (36-29). Back in 2008, the Celtics were the spoilers for the Rockets, ending the team’s win streak. You know they’ll look to do the same this time. Fortunately, they’ll host the Heat and the Celtics currently have an 11 home-game win streak.

The Heat are yet to win against the Celtics in Boston during the regular season with James on the team. He is 0-5 against them with his team averaging 79.6 points in these games. Miami does have better luck in the playoffs, going 2 for 3 against the Celtics in the last two years including last year’s Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals.

One question heading into Monday’s game is whether or not Kevin Garnett will be on the court.

On Sunday, Celtics coach Doc Rivers said that Garnett was “50-50” to play. This comes as the veteran play has a left adductor stain and missed Saturday’s game against the Charlotte Bobcats and Sunday’s team practice.

The likelihood seems low that Garnett will miss the Heat game especially with their win streak and well, let’s be honest, the Celtics hate the Heat. Factor in the team’s own streak and this could be a heated game.

In the teams’ last meeting on Jan. 27, the Celtics won at home in double OT, 100-98. Garnett was vital for the win with his 24 points and 11 rebounds but it was a turning point for the team. Rajon Rondon saw his season come to an end in this game with his torn ACL while the Celtics started their 11-game home win streak without the player. This represents their longest one since the 2008-09 season.

For Paul Pierce, the team’s success at home was weighing heavily on his mind and he recently said, “We just feel like this is a building we should never lose in.Teams coming to the Garden, they’ve got to know that this is going to be their toughest game of the year. That’s the feeling and the swagger that we’re bringing.”

In the Jan. 27 game, Pierce had a triple double.

Both teams will enter with a lot of confidence for Monday’s game. But the Heat have their eye on the prize for another NBA Championship and are +115 for a repeat.

Some other Monday games for the Eastern Conference includes the Indiana Pacers (40-26) vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers (22-44).

The Pacers sit in the second spot behind the Heat but lead the Central Division. They’ll look to avoid a third straight loss while the Cavaliers will be playing without Kyrie Irving.

Indiana has the second highest defense in the league based on points allowed (90) and are -7 with a 190.5 o/u for Monday’s win.

Bulls Joakim Noah

The Denver Nuggets (45-22) will travel to Chicago (36-29). Streaks are the hot topic for the NBA this season and for this match up, the Nuggets are looking to keep their win one alive. With a victory against the Bulls, they’ll hit win No. 12.

For the Bulls, they have a home win streak going on and hope to have No. 4–the longest for this season.

But they’ve been hit by the injury bug and will look to top defensive player Joakim Noah as well as Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer and Nate Robinson. Fans are impatiently waiting for a Derrick Rose return but for the June prize, they’re +3300 to get it done–most likely without him.