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.
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