Those old, proud, short-handed Boston Celtics had the defending champs on the ropes. But like they’ve done so many times this season, the Miami Heat rose to the challenge and emerged victorious. 23 straight Ws, the second longest winning streak in NBA history. LeBron James — 37 points, 12 assists, 7 rebounds, and a monster dunk over Jason Terry — led the way as usual. Per the Palm Beach Post: “Jeff backed up on me, gave me a little room,’ James said. The game-winning jumper was a perfect capper to another brilliant night for James, one that included 37 points, seven rebounds, 12 assists and a vicious dunk off a Norris Cole lob that left Heat nemesis and nuisance Jason Terry flat on his back, an emasculation that warrants an aside. It was Terry who teased and tormented Miami in the 2011 Finals, and who had said over the weekend that he ‘wasn’t impressed’ by anything the Heat did, even the streak. ‘I seen him down there,’ James said. ‘I don’t think he saw me.’ James could smile about that second quarter encounter, because of what occurred in the game’s final 10.5 seconds. Because, even after James’s jumper, there was still that little time left — time that, in Boston for the Heat, is usually too much. Green drove on Shane Battier, but Battier, in as a defensive substitution, stuck with him and blocked the ball out of bounds. ‘He got all the way to the basket,’ Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. ‘Shane Battier made a hell of a play.'”
