It's been four decades since the record-setting 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers had another team threaten their place in history, and now the reigning champion Miami Heat are knocking on the door.
"It is certainly a possibility that the Heat could break our 33-game winning streak," said Bill Sharman, the Hall of Fame coach of those legendary Lakers. "The record has held for 41 years, and all of us that participated in it are very proud to have been part of that season. However, (Heat president) Pat Riley has put together an amazing team, and I have to admit this one makes me a little nervous."
According to Fox Sports Florida, the Lakers had their 33-game winning streak only threatened one time, by the Houston Rockets who reached 22 in 2007-08.
Now it's a different story.
Riley was a reserve guard on that historic Laker team, but now as Heat president he's put together a tremendous trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bush, which is putting a little added pressure on his old team.
"I'd say this is the most serious challenge we've had to our streak," Hall of Fame guard Gail Goodrich, the leading scorer on the 1971-72 Lakers with a 25.9 average, said of the Heat. "I think they'll make a very, very, very serious run at our record, They might even break it. They're head and shoulders over the rest of the NBA. Who's going to beat them? There's not as much parity in the league now."
Miami's next game is against the Milwaukee Bucks, a team that has already taken a victory over the Heat this season.
By coincidence, the Bucks are the same team to have had snapped the Lakers' 33-game streak with a 120-104 win Jan. 9, 1972 in Milwaukee.
"I think they could have trouble in Milwaukee because the Bucks are streak breakers," said Jon McGlocklin, a guard on the 1970-71 Milwaukee team that won the title with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Roberson and who is now a Bucks television analyst.
The Heat have won their 20 games by an average of 11.4 points. They've had 12 victories by 10 or more points, although that includes a 141-129 double-overtime win over the Kings on Feb. 26.
