Miami Heat Have Won a Franchise Record 15 Straight Games

The Minnesota Timberwolves couldn’t halt the League’s hottest team, and fell 97-81 to the Miami Heat. The defending NBA champions have slapped together a franchise-best 15 consecutive wins. From the Miami Herald: “Every game is different and this was a tough one mentally that we had to fight through,’ said Dwyane Wade, who scored a game-high 32 points. ‘We had a lot of turnovers but we were playing well. If we didn’t turn the ball over, we would have played almost a perfect game. We shot the ball well, moved it well.’ The Heat has a few signature wins during this 15-game run — although Minnesota won’t be included in that group. The banged-up Timberwolves have lost six in a row and are 6-24 since New Year’s Day. Miami, meanwhile, holds a seven-game lead over Indiana for the top seed in the Eastern Conference as the Heat followed up Sunday’s win in New York by easing past Minnesota. ‘This was about finding a way to get the win — no matter how,’ coach Erik Spoelstra said. ‘We were very careless offensively but at the end of the day we got the win. Now, lets get out of here.’ A night after winning in New York, Miami played sloppy at times as its season-high 23 turnovers helped keep the Wolves in the game. […] Miami outscored Minnesota 26-13 in the final 10 minutes. Allen’s three-pointer at the three minute mark to give Miami its biggest lead of the night at 18. ‘We didn’t play good basketball but got stops when we needed to,’said LeBron James, who started Monday’s game despite concern about his left knee, which he tweaked Sunday in New York. ‘It was a good win. Offensively we’re moving the ball, sharing the ball.’ The Heat, which hoped to escape snowy Minneapolis late Monday night, will try to extend its winning streak Wednesday against Orlando in Miami.”