TRASH TALK GOLD: LeBron 'glad' he dunked on Jason Terry

The Dunk is still making headlines two days later.

On Wednesday in Cleveland, LeBron James pulled no punches in analyzing his colossal slam on Jason Terry.

"It was one of my better ones," James said. "And the fact that it happened to J.T. made it that much sweeter because I think we all know what J.T. talks and he talks too much sometimes and I'm glad it happened to him."

Ka-Pow!

James' use of trash talk in the public sphere is so rare, that his comments during shootaround in Cleveland almost seemed a little premeditated. Indeed, the Heat's sideline reporter asked the question that elicited James' reaction to the dunk. In other words, the Heat really, really dislikes the Celtics and Terry in particular. After all, it was Terry that scored 27 points in Game 6 of the 2011 NBA Finals. 

In memory of Jason Terry

The Internet went into overdrive on Monday night after LeBron's alley-oop on Jason Terry. Here's a collection of some of the best memes people sent me on Twitter. If you have your own, provide a link in the comments section.

 

Obligatory Wikipedia page sabotage.

Brandon Knight and Jason Terry on permanent vacation.

 

 

Down for the count.

 

 

LeBron's dunk on Jason Terry, game-winning shot highlight comeback

I can't decide which play was better, LeBron's alley-oop on Jason Terry or his game-winning shot to cap a 17-point comeback.

I'm going with the dunk, despite the stone-cold nature of the game-winner. Hey, give Terry credit for hanging in there. Of course, Terry was feeling pretty guilty after just giving up a turnover at midcourt. Wade stole the ball from Terry and found Norris Cole, who lobbed the ball to James.

LeBron received a technical foul after the play. What officials mistook for taunting was actually LeBron checking for signs of life after nearly sending the Jet to that big airplane hanger in the sky.

James finished the game with 37 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds. He now has 33 triple-doubles, which is a career high for a single season.

The Heat clinched its division with the victory and a loss by the Hawks. The 23-game winning streak now moves to the Cleveland. The 17-point comeback was the Heat's largest of the season. The Heat trailed by 13 points with eight minutes left in the game.

The Heat lost 10 consecutive regular-season games in Boston before Monday's victory.

To keep streak alive, Heat must accomplish a first

If you don't think the Heat's streak is jeopardy on Monday in Boston, then you haven't been paying attention for the last three seasons. The Heat is 0-5 at Boston during the regular season since 2010.

Yes, the Heat has knocked the Celtics out of playoffs the last two seasons, and, yes, ultimately that's all that matters, but if the Heat is to extend its winning streak past 22 games, then Miami must accomplish a first since LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade in Miami.

A few days ago, Paul Pierce said he wanted not only for the Heat’s streak to end, but for Miami to lose every game for the rest of the season. Pretty much every soul in Boston is wishing the same thing. Dwyane Wade expects a hostile crowd on Monday and, despite the Celtics not having their star point guard and likely their All-Star power forward as well, the game represents arguably the most difficult game of the Heat's streak.

“It’s always a great atmosphere when we go there but obviously now they’re going to want to see us lose,” Wade said. “They’re going to want to see [the Celtics] beat us. We’ve got to step up to the challenge at the beginning of the game. It’s going to be loud.”

The Celtics are without Rajon Rondo, who suffered a season-ending knee injury before the All-Star break, and Kevin Garnett is questionable because of soreness in his hip. On paper, the loss of Rondo and Garnett would seemingly give the Heat a definitive advantage, but the Heat knows those things sometimes don’t matter in Boston.

“They still got a championship coach and championship player on the court,” James said. “We expect a challenge.”

The championship player is Pierce, who on Friday said he would like it if the Heat lost every game for the rest of the season. Pierce, of course, has said plenty about the Heat since Wade, James and Bosh united and has always, in the regular season at least, found a way to back up his trash talk at TD Garden.

“We’re going in there and we know they’re going to be ready for us and we’re going to be ready for them,” James said. “It’s a team that we could possibly see in the playoffs. I’m not worried about our level of focus.”

Bron-Bot dances through Chris Bosh's post-game interview

Chris Bosh is the king of the "photobomb," which makes him an easy target.

As the star of Friday night's victory against the Bucks — he had 28 points on 16 shots — Bosh was participating in the perfunctory post-game interview with Heat court-side reporter Jason Jackson when LeBron James danced through the shot during the robot.

The whole thing seemed a little planned. Why else would play-by-play man Eric Reid allude to it before the interview and why would the camera suddenly pan out if it was supposedly spontaneous? But whatever. It was pretty funny.

Should we call that dance the Bron-Bot or Robo-Bron? Here it is: 

 

Bosh finds his form just in time for Toronto

Chris Bosh virtuoso performance in the third quarter of Friday's victory against the Bucks was a welcomed reversal of a downward trend for the power forward.

While his efficiency has remained steady for much of the season, Bosh overall production has taken a dip since the All-Star break. Before Friday, he was averaging 16.1 points per game during the Heat's winning streak. Against Milwaukee, Bosh had 13 points in the third quarter alone.

LeBron James made a point of getting Bosh involved immediately at the beginning of both halves and Bosh's smooth shot did the rest. He led the Heat with nine points in the first quarter and was 5 of 5 from the field and 2 of 2 from three-point range in the third quarter. During that period, Bosh converted the first four-point play of his career.

Bosh finished with 28 points against Milwaukee. Expect LeBron to put the ball in Bosh's hands early against the Raptors, his old team. Here's Bosh's shot chart from Friday:

Paul Pierce wants the Heat to lose every game

From here on out, it’s the Heat vs. the NBA. Everyone wants to be the team that ends the Heat’s winning streak.

“Teams want to beat us more and more,” Dwyane Wade said. “They’re tired of hearing about it on ESPN. They want to watch ESPN like everyone else. They’re tired of hearing the Heat.”

Or, if you’re Paul Pierce, you just want the Heat to lose period.

Pierce was asked about the Heat’s streak on Friday morning and quipped, “I really don’t even care. I hope they lose every game the rest of the season.”

The Celtics host the Heat on Monday at TD Garden. If the Heat’s streak survives Friday night's game in Milwaukee and Sunday’s game against Toronto, then chances are Pierce’s comments will be used as a source of motivation inside the Heat’s locker room.

Of course, it’s not like the Heat needs any more motivation against Pierce and the Celtics. Upon defeating the Heat in Miami back in 2011, Pierce took a shot at the newly formed super team on Twitter with some unforgettable trash talk.

“It’s been a pleasure bringing my talents to South Beach,” Pierce wrote.

Udonis Haslem responded to the dig by calling Pierce a “studio gangster.” Since then, the rivalry has only gotten better. The Heat knocked the Celtics out of the playoffs in 2011 and 2012 and former Celtics star Ray Allen joined the Heat last summer.

Wade shrugged off Pierce’s comments on Monday and agreed with Boston’s star. “He should” want the Heat to lose, Wade said.

“Why would he want us to win?” Wade asked. “I understand, you know. So, I would feel the same way.”

The Heat’s victory against the Sixers, win No.20 in the winning streak, moved Miami one game ahead of Pierce’s 2008-09 Celtics in the record books. That team won 19 consecutive games and, before the Heat came along, held the NBA record for most consecutive wins by a defending champion.

Dwyane Wade aims to surpass His Airness against Bucks

More than anything, Dwayne Wade's resurgence has fueled the Heat's 20-game winning streak.

During the run, Wade is averaging 24.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game. He was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games from March 4-10 and his consecutive-games streak with at least one steal (23 games) ended on Wednesday in Philadelphia.

Most recently, Wade has shot at least 50 percent from the field in 12 straight games. It's the longest such streak of his career. He shot at least 50 percent in 11 straight games last season (Feb. 3-21, 2012) and did it in nine-straight games in 2009.

So, while LeBron James is having another MVP-caliber season, Wade is putting up some of the best numbers of his career. Is Wade currently second on the list of the league's most valuable players? A case can be made. Consider this: In his last 11 games, Wade has shot at least 50 percent from the field while also scoring at least 20 points in every game.

The last player to pull off that type of efficient and productive run was Michael Jordan way back during the 1995-96 season. Jordan did it in 11-straight games. Wade can surpass His Airness on Friday night in Milwaukee.

Winning streak inching closer to history

The Heat's current 19-game regular-season winning streak is tied for fifth all-time in NBA history with the 1999-2000 Los Angeles Lakers and the 2008-09 Boston Celtics. A victory on Wednesday in Philadelphia would move Miami into a tie for third. Here's a look at who's ahead of the Heat on the all-time list.

1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers
Winning streak: 33
Lakers coach Bill Sharman introduced the morning shootaround at the beginning of the season and the extra work had a profound effect. It also helped that Wilt Chamberlain and David West were in the primes of their careers. The Lakers won 14 straight to end Novemeber and then won all 16 games in the month of December. Four games into January, the streak ended with a loss to the Bucks.

2007-08 Houston Rockets
Winning streak: 22
Yao Ming suffered a season-ending injury during the middle of the run but the Rockets, led by Tracy McGrady, still reeled off 14 straight victories after Yao went down. Shane Battier endeared himself to Rockets fans for forever with his gritty defense and clutch shooting.

1947-48 and 1948-49 Washington Capitols
Winning streak: 20
Hall of Fame coach Red Auerbach made a name for himself in Washington after coaching the Navy basketball. 

1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks
Winning streak: 20
The Bucks traded for Oscar Robertson, formerly of the Cincinnati Royals, and paired him with Lew Alcindor. Alcindor converted to Islam the following the season and changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabaar.  

Juwan Howard signs second 10-day

What can I say, Riles thinks Juwan looks good in a suit. It's really that simple. Free money! Hooray!