From February 3 to March 26, 2013, the Heat of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade And Chris Bosh rolls on the league. Before challenging, on March 27, Bulls diminished by the absence of Joakim Noah, their best player, Miami went on to… 27 victories in a row! Quite simply the second longest series in history, behind the Lakers' untouchable 33 consecutive victories in 1971/72…
Erik Spoelstra's men are not always brilliant in the game, but they demonstrate remarkable defensive strength and power. Even mishandled, the Florida team always finds resources, helped by all the talent of its shock trio.
But against a team of Chicago solidly coached by Tom Thibodeau, Miami was dominated in the first half. There is a delay in lighting, lost balloons and little rhythm. Fortunately, LeBron James (32 points, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks) holds the house in the first quarter.
“The Heat will have made history for 27 games, Chicago will have made it for 48 minutes. »
Then in the second half, supported by Dwyane Wade (18 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals) and Chris Bosh (21 points, 4 blocks), the “King” gained momentum and the Bulls were no longer able to display their level of play. first act. However, like Luol Deng (28 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists), Carlos Boozer (21 points, 17 rebounds) or Jimmy Butler (17 points), they remain terribly combative.
At the end of the game, LeBron James begins to get annoyed by the physical intensity of the Illinois players and the Heat cannot make the difference in the final minutes, as was so often the case during this enchanted parenthesis of 27 victories in a row. At the end of the effort, Chicago won 101-97 and, as we wrote in our summary of the time, “the Heat will have made history for 27 games, Chicago will have made it for 48 minutes”.
“We will probably understand all this better and later in our careers”will note Erik Spoelstra after this defeat. “It’s one of the best series in history, we know that”will add LeBron James. “We haven’t yet had a moment to understand what we have achieved. We were blessed to be part of this team and such a series. »
A team that would finish as champions that year and, since then, only the Warriors have come close to this series, with “only” 24 consecutive successes at the start of the 2015/16 season…
