Green's 43 Points Not Enough; Heat Wins 23rd Straight

Jeff Green has his biggest night since he was the 13^th best player in the country at Georgetown in 2007, scorching the Miami Heat for 43 points and playing perfect defense on LeBron James with a 103-103 tie in the closing minute. He denied James any space to drive, and perfectly contested an off-balance jumper from just inside the arc … and it still was not enough. The shot rattled in and the Heat had won their 23^rd straight game – Green had the 2^nd best scoring outing of the year but the Heat had the 2^nd longest winning streak in NBA history.

James final shot over green rattled in with 10.5 seconds left, leaving the Heat only 10 games short of the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.  James scored 37 with 12 and Paul Pierce had 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Celtics. But he missed a 3-pointer with 3 seconds left that could have given Boston the win.

For the entire AP story, click here.