The Miami Heat snapped the Houston Rocket's five game winning streak Sunday, with an exciting 125-119 victory in which the Heat made Franchise history along the way.
The Heat, now standing at 51-22, have won five straight and eight of their last nine and currently sit only a half game back of the Boston Celtics for the number two seed in the Eastern Conference.
"A fan's delight, a coach's nightmare," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of a game that surely won't be remembered for it's defensive prowess.
Not only was this the first time in the Heat's 23-year history that three Heat players scored at least 30 points in the same game, but it was only the second time in NBA history and first since 1961 that a team had three players score 30 points and pull down 10 rebounds in regulation.
Lebron James finished with 33 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists, Chris Bosh had 31 points and 12 rebounds, and Dwyane Wade added 30 points and 11 rebounds in a game that probably made many ponder, "Why don't they do this every night?"
Lately, it seems like they have.
No, they haven't been setting franchise records on a nightly basis; but in the last nine games the Heat's big three have shown the kind of nightly consistency that has been lacking for much of the season. Too many times this season the Heat lost big games due to a lousy night from one of the three. But with only nine games remaining before the playoffs, that no longer seems to be the case.
Take Chris Bosh for example. After unfairly taking the brunt of the blame for the Heat's struggles at various points in the season, Bosh has recently silenced his critics, putting up the kind of numbers that he did as the first option for the Toronto Raptors. In his last nine games, Bosh has had seven doubles (24 points and nine rebounds against the L.A. Lakers) and has scored 30 plus twice.
Wade and James have looked like the best two players in the league at their respective positions, both earning Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors during the stretch.
It may not have been the kind of defensive basketball that has been a staple of the Heat organization for years, but even Spoelstra couldn't help but smile when speaking about the historic night.
"That's what makes great players special, " Spoelstra said. "They can be great during the year and still find another gear, another level they could go to."
"We're just trying to win," Bosh said when talking about his team's historic accomplishment. "That's the bottom line, we're just trying to win games. And historic things that happen, we can have a sense of accomplishment."
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