The Miami Heat extended their winning streak to 19 games after defeating the Atlanta Hawks 98-81 on Tuesday, even while reigning NBA MVP LeBron James had his worst shooting performance of the season.
"Let's be honest, we're not sitting here and saying this is not something special," said James, who shot just 3-of-11 and scored 15 points while sitting out the fourth quarter.
"This is an unbelievable streak that we're on. We're playing great basketball. We're winning different phases of the game. We're winning different styles. We've won on the road, at home, double overtime games, at the end of regulation games, what the case may be. I'm not going to sit here and say it's not special. But at the same time we don't want to get caught up in it too much."
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. Dwyane Wade led the way with 23 points.
"You know you're a part of history right now, but you just want to keep winning and keep it up," said Wade. "This team is put together to win championships, that's what we're measured by and that's what we measure ourselves by ... but this is a special time."
The Heat 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.
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