MIAMI: The Miami Heat stretched their record win streak to 25 straight games yesterday but once again they had to dig deep in the second half to rally past a spirited opponent.
The Heat, who own the second-longest streak in National Basketball Association history, beat the Detroit Pistons 103-89 behind a game-high 29-point effort from LeBron James.
James shot 12-of-15 from the field and finished with eight rebounds and eight assists for the Heat in front of a crowd of 20,350 at American Airlines Arena.
Miami now trails the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers -- who hold the NBA record -- by eight games for the longest winning streak ever. Miami got off to another slow start and trailed the Pistons 54-51 at halftime.
The Heat had to battle back from two big deficits in their previous two games before facing Detroit.
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player James said he’s not worried about the slow starts because the Heat know they can always grind teams down in the fourth quarter. Dwyane Wade had 19 points and Shane Battier scored eight of his 11 points.
On Wednesday, the Heat were down by 27 points in the third quarter to James’ former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, before storming back to pull out a 97-85 win.AFP
