The Miami Heat have the longest NBA win streak of the season after their 108-99 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday.
The Heat have won 13 games straight and have improved their overall record on the season to 24-30. The remarkable run by Miami has come out of nowhere, and has propelled it right into the postseason discussion. This victory did not come easy however, despite Brooklyn's NBA-worst 9-45 record.
While Miami entered with 12 wins in a row, Brooklyn is on a streak as well. The Nets have now lost a dozen straight, but played competitively throughout this one. The Nets led at the half, and padded their lead some early in the third quarter of play. Miami would turn things around however, and took a lead into the fourth quarter. In the final quarter, the Heat outscored the Nets by seven to put the game away.
The Heat were without the services of Dion Waiters for a second straight contest, and it was a noticeable difference. Waiters not only gives Miami consistent production, but he improves the depth of the team. Without Waiters, the Heat had to turn to Wayne Ellington, Rodney McGruder and Tyler Johnson for bigger minutes once again.
James Johnson led the team in points, even though he came off the bench. Johnson had 26 points to go along with eight rebounds and three blocks. The forward also added a pair of assists and a steal in an all-around terrific effort.
Goran Dragic was the highest scorer in the starting lineup with his 21 points. Dragic also chipped in five assists, four rebounds and a steal.
While Hassan Whiteside had a slow night in terms of points with eight, the center was strong defensively. Whiteside added four blocks to his season total to help Miami come out on top.
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Miami will play the second-half of a back-to-back on Saturday in Philadelphia against the 76ers.
