LeBron James seems set on perfecting his game and eradicated every defect. Michael Jordan said before the All-Star game that the key to stopping James was to force him left because he always pulls up for a jumper. Wednesday with the Heat’s 15-game win streak on the line, DeQuan Jones met James outside the three-point arc and forced him left in the closing seconds.
James did not pull up for the jumper or pass to a teammate as in past years, and he didn’t dribble left just far enough to pull up for a jumper like he did against Kobe Bryant in the All-Star game. Instead he went all the way to the basket using his left hand to lay the ball into the hoop and deliver a 97-96 win to pull him within two games of Jordan’s longest win streak of 18 games.
Barely beating the struggling Orlando Magic in Miami is not impressive, as the Heat blew a 20-point lead. Dwyane Wade also had a better game than James, which he has done a few times while shooting 62 percent during the last seven games. Wade was the better shooter (10 of 16), and had more rebounds (6 to 3 over James), assists (3 to 2) and steals (4 to 0).
But while James was only one of six on three-pointers, including two misses in the closing minutes, he overpowered another team by making six of eight two-pointers and 11 of 12 free throws in a 26 point performance during which the Heat won by 8 points during the 38 minutes he was on the court, and lost by 7 points during the 10 minutes he was not.
Dec 29 1995-Feb 2 1996 | Bulls | Opp | Streak | Feb 3 2013-March 10 2013 | Heat | Opp | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Indiana Pacers | h | 120 | 93 | W 1 | Toronto Raptors | a | 100 | 85 |
Atlanta Hawks | h | 95 | 93 | W 2 | Charlotte Bobcats | h | 99 | 94 |
Houston Rockets | h | 100 | 86 | W 3 | Houston Rockets | h | 114 | 108 |
Charlotte Hornets | a | 117 | 93 | W 4 | Los Angeles Clippers | h | 111 | 89 |
Milwaukee Bucks | h | 113 | 84 | W 5 | Los Angeles Lakers | h | 107 | 97 |
Seattle SuperSonics | h | 113 | 87 | W 6 | Portland Trail Blazers | h | 117 | 104 |
Philadelphia 76ers | a | 120 | 93 | W 7 | Oklahoma City Thunder | a | 110 | 100 |
Washington Bullets | a | 116 | 109 | W 8 | Atlanta Hawks | a | 103 | 90 |
Philadelphia 76ers | h | 116 | 104 | W 9 | Chicago Bulls | a | 86 | 67 |
Toronto Raptors | a | 92 | 89 | W 10 | Philadelphia 76ers | a | 114 | 90 |
Detroit Pistons | a | 111 | 96 | W 11 | Cleveland Cavaliers | h | 109 | 105 |
New York Knicks | a | 99 | 79 | W 12 | Sacramento Kings | h | 141 | 129 |
Vancouver Grizzlies | h | 104 | 84 | W 13 | Memphis Grizzlies | h | 98 | 91 |
Miami Heat | h | 102 | 80 | W 14 | New York Knicks | a | 99 | 93 |
Phoenix Suns | h | 93 | 82 | W 15 | Minnesota Timberwolves | a | 97 | 81 |
Houston Rockets | a | 98 | 87 | W 16 | Orlando Magic | h | 97 | 96 |
Sacramento Kings | a | 105 | 85 | W 17 | Philadelphia 76ers | h | Fri | 8-Mar |
Los Angeles Lakers | a | 99 | 84 | W 18 | Indiana Pacers | h | Sun | 10-Mar |
Average Bulls Score | 106 | 89 | Average Heat Score | 106 | 95 |
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