The Miami Heat have tied the second longest winning streak in NBA history at 22 wins, and will look for their 23rd Monday night when they take on the Boston Celtics at 8 p.m. ET.
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Coincidently, it's exactly five years to the day when the Celtics stopped the second-longest winning streak in NBA history. Houston's streak of 22 straight victories ended March 18, 2008, with a 94-74 home loss to the Celtics.
"If there's any group that would be motivated in a circumstance like this, it's that team in green," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I don't know if the streak will be a big factor but they love playing against us, and vice versa."
Miami began their streak five days after a 100-98 double-overtime loss in Boston on Jan. 27, the same day the Celtics (36-29) learned Rajon Rondo was out for the season with a torn ACL. Shockingly, they've won all 11 of their games in Boston since losing Rondo, recording the team's longest single-season home winning streak since 2008-09.
"We just feel like this is a building we should never lose in," said Paul Pierce, whose Celtics are 24-9 at home. "Teams coming to the Garden, they've got to know that this is going to be their toughest game of the year. That's the feeling and the swagger that we're bringing."
This home win streak began with that thriller against the Heat (51-14), who have averaged a paltry 79.6 points in going 0-5 at Boston during the regular season since LeBron James joined the team. Miami, though, is 2/3 there in the playoffs over the past two years, including a Game 6 win in the 2012 Eastern Conference finals when the Celtics had a chance to close out the series.
The Heat also knocked them out in the conference semifinals a year earlier, but Boston has won 12 of the past 15 regular-season meetings. That includes a 7-3 record since James joined this rivalry, though the Celtics did lose 120-107 in Miami to open the season.
"We've got to know we're going to have a dog fight on our hands," said Dwyane Wade, who had 17 points on 6-of-20 shooting with six turnovers in the Jan. 27 loss at Boston.
