The Memphis Grizzlies will look to pull off a season sweep with a road win against the Miami Heat for Friday night NBA action at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Watch Memphis Grizzlies vs. Miami Heat live stream, click here.
Each team pulled off a memorable victory in its last game but surely would consider one Friday night to be much more significant. The Grizzlies are looking to record the longest winning streak in franchise history and prevent the Heat from notching the second longest in theirs.
A run of 12 consecutive victories along with LeBron James' dazzling play has largely made Miami the focal point of the NBA. This win streak is the team's best since James' first season with the Heat in 2010-11, and the only one that lasted longer was a 14-game run in 2004-05.
"We're coming together," said James, averaging 29.8 points and shooting 65.0 percent during this win streak. "We're doing it the right way. We're executing offensively. We're sharing the ball."
He certainly shared a lot Tuesday, recording a career-high 16 assists to go with his season-best 40 points in a 141-129 double-overtime victory over Sacramento. Dwyane Wade scored a season-high 39 for the Heat (41-14), who trailed in the fourth quarter against a sub-.500 team for the second straight game.
Meanwhile, the Grizzlies have even more reason to be confident as one of four teams to beat the Heat by more than 10 points this season. Memphis is the only one to hold them below 40 percent from the field, winning 104-86 on Nov. 11 as Wade had eight points on 3-of-15 shooting.
In fact, few teams have had done as well against the Heat in recent years. The Grizzlies have won seven of the past 10 meetings and three of four since James joined Miami.
One reason for that success is Memphis having a more formidable frontcourt. Zach Randolph has posted five consecutive double-doubles and has four in the last five matchups with Miami. Center Marc Gasol has averaged 18.0 points and 10.7 rebounds over his last three games.
However, the Grizzlies won't have Rudy Gay this time after trading their top scorer to Toronto, and their only loss in the past four meetings came when he was sidelined by injury.
Newcomer Tayshaun Prince has replaced him in the starting lineup and is scoring 8.9 per game in a Memphis uniform, about half what Gay was averaging.
