It is the dog days of a Miami Heat summer folks, the NBA Finals are over, the draft is in the books, and the hum of free agency is inaudible. Now, the only thing left ahead of the regular season is Summer League and reminiscing.
That means that it’s time to look back into the caverns of NBA history, finding and polishing the gems from years past.
For the next few weeks, we will look back at some significant games in Heat history… Some Miami Heat Moments, if you will, to break the monotony of the offseason grind and hopefully bring a smile to your face as you gloat over victories won in another life.
Today, we take a special trip to a Miami Heat winning streak back in 2013. The time machine is firing up to one of the best regular-season games in recent NBA memory.
It’s time for a Miami Heat Moment! Let’s dive into it!
Miami Heat Moments: Lebron James Ends Jason Terry!
A favorite Miami Heat opponent and punching bag when possible, this moments features the boys from Beantown.
The streak continues in Boston
The Miami Heat team loaded with the Big 3 was fresh off a title against the Oklahoma City Thunder and back for more glory in the 2012-2013 season. The championship reign was going well for the Heat, including a winning streak of over 20 wins.
Miami was torching the league and it seemed nobody could stand in their way. But the Boston Celtics loomed on the schedule.
Boston proved to be the Yin to Miami’s Yang early in the Heat’s dynasty and once again, they poised a threat, although this was a very different Boston team. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett (Garnett did not even play in this game) were aging, while Rajon Rondo was out with a torn ACL.
The Celtics went to battle against the Heat with Courtney Lee, Jeff Green and Avery Bradley. Despite that, this was still a heavyweight bout because just five years ago, Boston ended the Houston Rockets winning streak at 22, where the Heat currently stood on March 18, 2013.
The battle started with Boston throwing the first punch, with a 19-31 first quarter to open up the home game, while Green’s 14 first-half points proved he would be a problem. However, the Miami Heat roared back with a, 34-28, second quarter that was highlighted by a turnover and LeBron James dunk.
Miami Heat Moments: Lebron James Helps To Keep The Streak Alive!
Actually, that does not do the play justice. Shane Battier tossed up an alley-oop off a Boston turnover to LeBron, which led to James pulling the soul out of Terry in one of the NBA’s most memorable dunks of all time.
Seven years ago today, LeBron did this to Jason Terry 😳 pic.twitter.com/l1PYgTZjZG
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 18, 2020
That started to let doubt seep into a game that Boston largely controlled; however, it was not until the fourth quarter that Miami totally took over. More accurately, LeBron took over.
Headed into the final quarter, the Heat trailed 78-82 on the road and Green had already posted 38 of his eventual 43 points. He was the one giving the Celtics offensive life (and almost all the team’s three-point shooting).
Boston scored quickly in the fourth to go up by 13 points before James took the game over. At, roughly, the eight-minute mark, Lebron decided enough was enough, scoring nine of the Heat’s next 13 points and pulling it to within three just before the four-minute mark.
Then, the true beauty of LeBron shines through in the closing minutes of the game. James finds Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers in the closing minutes of the game, pulling the defense to open up teammates in the home stretch.
However, it was all James in the last minute and a half, scoring the last four points to close out the win that would be number 23 in a row for the Heat, keeping the winning streak alive and cementing the regular season run.
Along with a few other things, all of this cemented that sequence, that streak, and that iconic dunk into NBA history and lore forever. This has been your latest Miami Heat Moment!