Miami Heat Ends Celtics Streak

The Celtics 16-game winning streak was halted by Miami Heat

The Boston Celtics’ 16-game win streak came to an end on Wednesday night as they lost 104-98 to Miami Heat.

The Celtics had been behind for most of the game, and were still in it with 3:14 left. With the score at 91-90, Dion Waiters took a three-pointer that rebounded off the backboard and through the hoop to make it 94-90. He followed up with a step-back three pointer to seal the win for Miami.

It was Boston’s first defeat in 35 days since they lost their opening two NBA matches. They struggled in the first half, scoring only 3 points off of 10 Miami turnovers while shooting 33% from the floor.

The Heat were ahead 18 points during first half. They went into halftime leading 54-41, with Goran Dragic having scored 20. Dragic led Miami overall for the night, with 27.

This is a familiar theme of that Celtic’s streak, as they have performed excellently when coming from behind in the final quarter. On Nov 3 against Oklahoma City Thunder, Boston was behind by 18 in the third quarter. Only a star performance from Kyrie Irving saved them. Against Miami, though, a 16-point deficit proved too much to overcome.

Energy

Irving underachieved on Wednesday night. He finished the game with 23 points from 11-of-12 shooting. Rookie Jayson Tatum scored 18.

On losing his team’s winning record, Irving was grounded:

“You could tell they were locked in all night,” he said. “They wanted it. You gotta credit their energy.

“There’s still a lot to accomplish going forward,” Irving said. “It was a nice streak. But it was time to come to an end.”

In spite of the disappointing result, Boston is shaping up to be a hugely profitable ATS team this year.

They are 15-3-1 against the spread – the best in the league. If they cover against Orlando Magic today, they will become one of the four most profitable ATS teams over the first 20 NBA games since 1990.