The Heat (22-8 Overall, 15-2 Conference) remain third in the conference after while riding a three-game winning streak. According to ESPN.com, Miami started its week with an overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks (16-7 Overall, 10-4 Conference), 135-121. Kendrick Nunn stepped up and led the Heat with 36 points. It was a high scoring game that went into overtime after Jimmy Butler hit a late 3-pointer to tie the score. From there Miami went on an 18-4 run to put away the Hawks and extend their lead in the division.
Miami would lose a nail-biter to the Lakers (24-7 Overall, 16-4 Conference), at home, a few days later. They lost the matchup 113-110. LeBron James and Anthony Davis combined for 61 points en route to the win. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 15 points with four assists to help the Lakers knock off the Heat. Meanwhile, the Heat had five players in double figures. Butler scored 23 points for the Heat. While both teams struggled to shoot from deep, many Heat players were uncharacteristically cold. The Heat converted 30% from three. Although Miami was able to capitalize on sloppy turnovers from a stacked Lakers squad, they could not pull out the win.
Miami would go back to their winning ways, beating the Dallas Mavericks (19-10 Overall, 11-4 Conference) on the road, 122-118. According to NBA.com, Butler led the Heat with 27 points and five other players were in double digits. After Butler converted both free throws to send the game into overtime, Miami mounted a 10-6 run to leave Dallas with the win. Miami suffers another road defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies (11-20) before starting a three-game winning streak against Philadelphia 76ers (23-10), New York Knicks (7-24) and Utah Jazz (18-12).
As we head into the new year, Miami is hitting its stride. They are on top of the division and third in the conference. The fact that they can sustain this type of success against the top clubs in the NBA, shows the comradery and belief the players have in each other and the organization. Not enough recognition is being given to Jimmy Butler when it comes to talking about MVP candidates and the same goes for Spolestra with Coach of the Year. Week by week, Miami is slowly turning heads and people are beginning to take notice. However, Miami has some work to do to be prepared for playoffs when the time comes.
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