Heat Beat Celtics, Streak At 23

    The Miami Heat came back from a 17-point deficit and extended their winning streak to 23 games on Monday night as they edged the Boston Celtics 105-103 at TD Garden. The Heat, who had lost 10 straight regular season games in Boston prior to this game, last won there in April 2007. They also clinched the Southeast Division which barely got noticed based on the current streak.
    Miami passed the 2007-08 Houston Rockets for the second longest winning streak in NBA history. The Rockets had their streak broken five years ago today by the Celtics. The 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers stand alone with the all-time record of 33 consecutive victories.
    Boston(36-30), who played tonight without Kevin Garnett, got the first six points of the game. Miami(52-14) got up 19-14 with 4:39 left in the opening quarter, but the Celtics scored 17 consecutive points to lead 31-19 after one quarter. The C's got the margin up to 17 points at 38-21 two minutes into the second quarter. The Heat finished the first half on a 15-6 rally and trailed 59-53 at halftime.
    The Heat picked up the first eight points of the second half and took the lead 61-59 with 9:49 to go in the third period. Boston stayed ahead for the rest of the frame and were up 82-78 after three quarters.
    The C's expanded their lead to 13 points at 96-83 with 8:26 remaining in the fourth quarter. Miami pulled off an 18-4 run to retake the lead 101-100 with 2:40 left. The game was tied at 103-103 with under one minute left until LeBron James hit a 21-foot jump shot from the left side for the go-ahead basket with 10.5 seconds to go.
    James put through a double-double with 37 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds in 42 minutes. Mario Chalmers knocked down 21 points in 37 minutes and Dwyane Wade contributed 16 points, six assists and seven rebounds in 36 minutes. Chris Bosh added 13 points and five rebounds in 37 minutes.
    Jeff Green lit things up for the Celtics with 43 points, four blocked shots and seven rebounds in 40 minutes. Paul Pierce had 17 points, eight assists and eight rebounds in 40 minutes while Courtney Lee had 13 points in 40 minutes.