Miami Heat

LeBron James scored 25 points as the Miami Heat overcame a 27-point deficit in the third quarter to win their 24th straight game, 98-95, Wednesday night over the shorthanded Cavaliers in Cleveland. The Heat, owners of the second-longest winning streak in NBA history, are now within nine games of matching the record of 33 consecutive wins held by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers. For more than 30 minutes the defending champions seemed disinterested and on the verge of losing for the first time since Feb. 1 - trailing by 67-40 with 7 minutes, 44 seconds left in the third quarter.

LeBron James made the go-ahead jumper with 10.5 seconds left to lead the Miami Heat to their 23d consecutive victory, the second-longest streak in NBA history, with a 105-103 win over the Celtics on Monday night in Boston. The Heat surpassed the 22 straight that Houston won in 2007-08 and trail only the 33 in a row won by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers. James scored 37 with 12 assists as the Heat won in Boston in the regular season for the first time in 11 tries despite a career-high 43 points from Jeff Green.

BACK WHERE their winning streak started on Super Bowl Sunday, the Miami Heat kept rolling right into March Madness. Now it's on to Boston to face the rival Celtics - the team that ended the last streak this long. The Heat equaled the second-longest winning streak in NBA history, pulling away in the fourth quarter Sunday in Toronto to beat the Raptors, 108-91, for their 22nd consecutive victory. "It's a special ride right now that we're on," LeBron James said. "The best thing about it is we're doing it together.

JORGE BERGOGLIO didn't make an appearance at the Wells Fargo Center Wednesday night, as he was busy being elected Pope over in Rome. If anyone is going to beat the Miami Heat any time soon, some divine intervention may have to occur. With their exciting, 98-94 win over the 76ers, the Heat has now won 20 games in a row, tying for the third-longest streak in NBA history. It was also the 14th straight regular-season victory over the Sixers by the Heat, who improved to 49-14. The Sixers, who meet Miami one more time this season, fell to 24-40.

MIAMI - For three quarters, the 76ers looked as if they might be able to do what no team in the NBA has been able to do for the better part of five weeks against the Miami Heat - win. But Miami has the huge advantage of having LeBron James, a player who takes over games and makes his teammates step up their games, which is exactly what happened on Friday at American Airlines Arena. The Heat extended their winning streak to a season-high 17 games with a 102-93 victory over the Sixers.

MIAMI - For three quarters, the 76ers looked as if they might accomplish what no team in the league has for the better part of five weeks: Beat the Miami Heat. But in LeBron James, Miami has a player that affects games in so many different ways that the Heat can never be counted out. They feed off what he does, and on Friday, as the Heat extended their franchise-record winning streak to 17 games with a 102-93 victory, James struck with subtlety. Facing a spirited 76ers team that desperately wanted to end a streak of its own, James, who finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists, sank a three-pointer with time running out in the third quarter that gave the Heat a 76-75 lead.

MIAMI - I always knew that the hatred and vitriol directed at LeBron James following his and the Miami Heat's loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals would not take long to dissipate. To begin with, unless you are fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers - the team James infamously and awkwardly left via free agency in the summer of 2010 - why should you have even cared that he chose to cut and run to South Beach? But after watching James play dazed and confused against the Mavs two years ago, I knew that the bitter learning experience and the ensuing, often over-the-top attacks on James would be the nudge to push him to play the game at a far higher level, and eventually into a comparison with Michael Jordan.

Things have gotten a little tense at times when Doug Collins is asked about Andrew Bynum. This was different. This wasn't tense. This was past tense. Collins was talking about Bynum's first actual practice with the Sixers on Friday. The injured center came out for a few minutes of 5-on-5 action. "You get visions of what might have been," Collins said. Not what will be or could be or should be, but what might have been. Collins made it clear that Bynum is not in great shape and not really close to appearing in a game.

LeBron James had 39 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists, and the Miami Heat trampled the host Oklahoma City Thunder, 110-100, in a Thursday night showcase before the all-star break. Chris Bosh chipped in 20 points and 12 rebounds as the Heat won their sixth straight against the Thunder dating to last year's NBA Finals. Miami swept the season series after winning on its home court on Christmas Day, following up after taking the last four games of the Finals. James was in position to continue his record run of games with at least 30 points and 60 percent shooting to seven, but missed from beyond the three-point line as the shot clock ran down with just over a minute left.