Heat hold off 76ers to run win streak to 20 games

 

LeBron James had 27 points, eight assists and sevener rebounds for the affectionateness.(Photo: Howard Smith, USA immediately Sports)

Story Highlights

• hot up join 1971-72 Lakers, 2007-08 Rockets, 1970-71 Bucks as only teams to win 20 straight in a temper
• LeBron James strike outd 27 points, and Dwyane Wade had 21, including tip-in and two thaw throws in final minute
• Thaddeus Young had 24 points and 15 boards for 76ers, while Jrue Holiday had 21 points and seven assists

PHILADELPHIA — Jrue Holiday dunked o'er LeBron James to tie the game late in the after part quarter and bring the capacity crowd to its feet.

But the Philadelphia 76ers proved unable(predicate) of halting one of the longest winning preventions ever, as the Miami Heat rallied to win their 20th consecutive game, 98-94 on Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

It's the longest single-season winning streak by a defending champion in NBA hi theme, surpassing the 19-game run indue together by the 2007-08 Boston Celtics. It also ties the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks for the third-longest single-season winning streak of all-time.

BOX SCORE: Heat 98, 76ers 94

D-WADE: 'Championship or bust' for Heat

"Twenty is special," Miami guard Dwyane Wade said. "To win 20 games in a row is awesome. You can't get about it. There's no way. But we'll just try to go for the adjacent one."

James finished with 27 points, eight assists and seven rebounds to lead the Heat (49-14), who scored five consecutive points after Holiday's slam knotted the score at 91 with 1:20 remaining. Wade added 21 points and eight boards.

Thaddeus Young had 24 points and 15 rebounds for the Sixers, including 16 points in the third quarter when Philadelphia trimmed its deficit to as detailed as four points. Holiday finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

"I feel badly that we couldn't come forward with the win," Sixers coach Doug Collins said, "because our guys worked so hard to make that happen."

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Philadelphia used a 14-2 run to allow in an 87-84 lead with four minutes to play, sending the sellout crowd of 20,398 into a frenzy. But what might have been the highlight of this putrid Sixers season instead went down as yet another acrimonious defeat. The Sixers (24-40) have lost 13 of their last 15 games.

"I run a risk this kind of sucks to say it, but we play to the level of our competition," Holiday said. "I feel like (against) the good teams we're unremarkably in there, competing to the end. And even against teams who might not be as good, we're usually there until the end, too. But I don't know. I guess we're the type of players that like to step up to the challenge."

 

Materials taken from USA Today