Heat march past Magic to extend win streak

The Miami Heat edged closer to the Los Angeles Lakers’ longest win streak in NBA history, beating Orlando 108-94 behind a 24-point effort from LeBron James.

James also had 11 assists and nine rebounds for the Heat who claimed their 27th consecutive victory as they home in on the 33-game winning streak set by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, who had Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor and Jerry West on the team.

This year’s scorching-hot Heat team features all-stars James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh but they had to do without Wade on Monday, who missed his second-consecutive game with a sore right knee.

First-place Miami are just six victories away from tying the Lakers and haven’t tasted defeat since February 1 on the road against the Indiana Pacers. The dominant win over the Magic kicked off a four-game road trip for Miami, who have won 13 in a row as the visitors. The Heat will also travel to Chicago, New Orleans and the mighty San Antonio Spurs on the upcoming road swing. Wade is hoping to return for Wednesday’s game against Chicago.

Tobias Harris finished with a team-high 20 points for the Magic who have lost seven-straight games.