Miami Heat Blog – Page 81 – NBA Blog

LeBron James wanted Taj Gibson to join the Miami Heat

It wasn’t the type of conversation Bulls forward Taj Gibson anticipated having when he accepted a spot on the USA Select Team last summer to work out against Team USA as it prepared for the London Olympics.

Then again, it isn’t often LeBron James tries to recruit you to join him with the Miami Heat.

‘‘We talked about it a lot because I was coming up on my contract, possibly becoming a free agent,’’ Gibson said. ‘‘We were kicking it around, and [James] was saying: ‘Come to Miami. Come in, and we’ll treat you right there.’ I was like, ‘Nah, I’m cool with the Bulls.’ ’’

At the time, he really wasn’t.

Gibson entered training camp with an uncertain future. The Bulls had until Nov. 1 to give him a contract extension or allow him to become a restricted free agent after this season. James knew that and was planting the seed.

— Reported by Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times

Dwyane Wade says knee pain is subsiding

Dwyane Wade sat out for the second game in a row as he continued to rest a sore right knee.

Wade said he underwent an MRI that returned negative and said the pain in his knee was diminishing.

“It’s just a bruise,” Wade said. “It’s just about understanding when you have something lingering it can affect other parts of your body. You have to be smart about it.

“You have to understand what’s coming down for our team in the next few days. [Sunday] was a good day, and hopefully it will feel better by Wednesday so I can get back on the court.”

Wade said he first took a hit on the knee in the team’s previous home game against Orlando on March 6, then hit it again against the Celtics on March 18.

— Reported by Andre C. Fernandez of the Miami Herald

Miami Heat winning streak reaches 26 games

The world’s best came out to see if Miami could do it again. Novak Djokovic, the top-ranked men’s tennis player. Wladimir Klitschko, the world heavyweight boxing king. Rory McIlroy, who sits atop the golf rankings for at least one more night.

And they got quite a show.

The Heat won their 26th straight game on Sunday, with LeBron James going for 32 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in a 109-77 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.

”I think it’s very humbling that you can have some of the greats from other sports come to see your team play, come to see you play,” said James, who was 11 for 14 from the field in another surgical performance. ”You try to leave an impression on them, as a team and as an individual, absolutely. So it was great to have them in the building, for sure.”

Chris Bosh and Norris Cole had 15 points apiece for the Heat, who played without Dwyane Wade, held from the lineup because of right knee soreness that the team believes is minor. And after yet another slow start, Miami is now seven victories shy of matching the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers for the league record of 33 in a row.

The show now goes on the road for a four-game trip that begins in Orlando on Monday, a swing that also will take the Heat to Chicago, New Orleans and San Antonio. And the Heat will start that trip 2 1/2 games ahead of San Antonio in the race for the NBA’s best record.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Shane Battier says Miami Heat have room to improve

The Miami Heat have won 25 straight games, turned what was a super-close Eastern Conference race into a runaway and seem to be finding different ways to prevail on a nightly basis.

And no, they are not particularly thrilled with themselves right now.

From the Heat perspective, it’s almost like they are simultaneously slumping and streaking after facing double-digit deficits in three consecutive games, yet finding ways to win them all, much like each of the 22 games that preceded this week.

”I’m taking the world view, that we have room to improve,” forward Shane Battier said. ”By no stretch of the imagination are we playing our best basketball right now. We’re winning ball games, but we have a lot of room for improvement. We have not started well the last couple games and our defensive focus has not been there. It’s been there in the second half and when we need it, but we need to do it more consistently.”

Even as they move closer to the NBA-record winning streak of 33 straight established by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1971-72, the bigger concern in the Heat locker room is that they are nowhere near a playoff gear with just 14 games remaining before the postseason arrives. They’ve trailed after five of their past six opening quarters, been losing at halftime in three straight outings and have been outshot in three of their last six contests.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Heat sign Juwan Howard for rest of season

Juwan Howard doesn’t play much, but his presence on the Miami Heat is obviously appreciated.

The Heat announced today that they have signed Howard for the remainder of the season.

Howard was previously signed by the HEAT to a 10-day contract on March 2 and then re-signed to a second 10-day contract on March 12. He has not appeared in a game for Miami this season, but has appeared in 85 games with the HEAT over the last two seasons averaging 2.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 9.2 minutes while shooting 40 percent from the field. Additionally, he appeared in 11 postseason games during Miami’s 2012 NBA Championship run, totaling 17 points, 10 rebounds and an assist in 60 minutes of action while shooting 4-of-9 from the field.

The former NBA All-Star was originally signed by the HEAT as a free agent on July 20, 2010 and then re-signed on December 9, 2011.

Heat barely survive Cavs, get 24th win in a row

Miami’s winning streak was in danger of disappearing – in Cleveland, of all places.

But LeBron James wouldn’t give up.

”That guy right there doesn’t want to lose in this building,” teammate Dwayne Wade said, nodding toward James, who left many angry Cavaliers fans behind when he bolted for Miami as a free agent three years ago. ”Not tonight.”

James scored 25 points as the Heat overcame a 27-point deficit in the third quarter and won their 24th straight game, 98-95 over the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night to extend the second-longest winning streak in NBA history.

The Heat are within nine games of matching the record of 33 consecutive wins held by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers. Once believed to be untouchable, the mark is now within reach.

James and his teammates have insisted the record isn’t one of their goals, and for more than 30 minutes the defending champions seemed disinterested and on the verge of losing for the first time since Feb. 1. Miami trailed 67-40 with 7:44 left in the third quarter.

— Reported by Tom Withers of the Associated Press

Heat set for hostile Celtics environment on Monday

A few days ago, Paul Pierce said he wanted not only for the Heat’s streak to end, but for Miami to lose every game for the rest of the season.

The Heat, which won its 22nd game in a row on Sunday, plays the Celtics at TD Garden on Monday. Dwyane Wade expects a hostile crowd. The game represents arguably the most difficult game of the streak because the Heat is 0-5 in Boston in the regular season since 2010.

“It’s always a great atmosphere when we go there but obviously now they’re going to want to see us lose,” Wade said of Celtics fans. “They’re going to want to see [the Celtics] beat us. We’ve got to step up to the challenge at the beginning of the game. It’s going to be loud.”

The Celtics are without Rajon Rondo, who suffered sustained a season-ending knee injury before the All-Star break, and Kevin Garnett is questionable because of soreness in his hip. On paper, the loss of Rondo and Garnett would seemingly give the Heat a definitive advantage, but the Heat knows those things sometimes don’t matter in Boston.

— Reported by Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald

Heat pull away from Raptors, win 22nd straight game

The Miami Heat equaled the second-longest winning streak in NBA history, pulling away in the fourth quarter Sunday to beat the Toronto Raptors 108-91 for their 22nd consecutive victory.

LeBron James had 22 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, Dwyane Wade added 24 points and nine assists, and Ray Allen scored 16 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter for the defending NBA champions.

Chris Bosh finished with 18 points as the Heat tied the 2007-08 Houston Rockets for the second-longest winning streak in NBA history. The longest is 33 games, set by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.

Miami will try to move into sole possession of second on Monday when it visits the Boston Celtics – who ended the Rockets’ run five years ago…

Rudy Gay scored 27 and Amir Johnson had 18 points and 18 rebounds as the Raptors lost their 11th straight against Miami, extending their longest active losing streak against a single opponent.

Jonas Valanciunas scored 18 points, and Terrence Ross and DeMar DeRozan each had 12 for the Raptors, whose last victory over the Heat was a 111-103 home win on Jan. 27, 2010 – when Bosh still played for Toronto and James was in Cleveland.

— Reported by Ian Harrison of the Associated Press

Heat win 21st straight game, beat Bucks 107-94

LeBron James and Chris Bosh each scored 28 points, and the Miami Heat made it 21 straight wins, beating the Milwaukee Bucks 107-94 on Friday night.

Only three other teams have won 20 in a row in one season, and the Heat now trail just the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers (33) and the 2007-08 Houston Rockets (22) after moving ahead of the 1970-71 Bucks.

They withstood an early scare when Dwyane Wade walked to the locker room with a neck strain after crashing to the court. Miami led by as much as 17 in the third quarter, then withstood a push by the Bucks to remain unbeaten since a loss at Indiana on Feb. 1.

Miami next plays Sunday at Toronto, where the winning streak began on Feb. 3.

Bosh hit from all angles and was 12 of 16 in the game, nailing two 3-pointers. He even converted a four-point play that made it 67-53 about five minutes into the third quarter.

James was his usual dominant self, and Wade finished with 20 points as the Heat avenged a loss at Milwaukee in late December.

Ersan Ilyasova led Milwaukee with 26 points and a season-high 17 rebounds. Brandon Jennings scored 21 but was 6 of 15 from the field, and the Bucks shot just over 37 percent. Monta Ellis struggled, finishing with seven points after scoring 26 in the previous game at Washington, and the Bucks dropped their third straight.

— Reported by Andrew Seligman of the Associated Press

Heat winning streak is now 19 straight games after beating Hawks

Standing at his locker after yet another victory, LeBron James finally acknowledged the obvious.

This winning streak is something for the Miami Heat to savor.

Dwyane Wade scored 23 points and on a night where the stat sheet would suggest a struggle, the Heat rolled once again, extending their winning streak to 19 games and leading wire-to-wire in beating the Atlanta Hawks 98-81 on Tuesday.

”Let’s be honest, guys,” James said. ”We’re not sitting here and saying this is not something special. This is an unbelievable streak that we’re on. We’re playing great basketball. We’re winning in different phases of the game, we’re playing different styles, we’ve won every game, on the road, at home, double-overtime games, end-of-regulation games, whatever the case may be.”

James scored 15 points and Chris Bosh and Mario Chalmers added 14 apiece for the Heat, who matched the fifth-longest streak in NBA history. They will try for their 20th straight win on Wednesday at Philadelphia, the start of a five-game trip.

Only three teams have won at least 20 consecutive games in the same season: the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers (33), the 2007-08 Houston Rockets (22) and the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks (20). The Washington Capitols also won 20 straight, spanning the end of the 1947-48 season and the start of the 1948-49 campaign.

”Ten is enough for me,” Bosh said. ”Twenty’s cool. I’d take it.”

Josh Smith scored 15 for the Hawks, who got 12 apiece from Al Horford and Jeff Teague.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press