Monday night’s grudge match with longtime rival, The Boston Celtics, showed why the Miami Heat are in the process of making NBA history.

The Boston Celtics couldn't put away the Heat despite what most would call a winning effort.  Boston’s Jeff Green had a career high scoring night putting up 43 points and getting the Celtics off to an early lead with 14 first quarter points.  The Celtics were grooving and settled into a 17 point lead in the first half. 

Miami hung tough and closed the gap to 6 points right before halftime by going on a 15-to-6 run.  The Heat didn't waste anytime as the second half began scoring the first 8 points, erasing the Celtic's lead. 

The Celtics got in front again and held on to what felt like a comfortable lead.  

Doc Rovers, The Boston Celtic’s head coach, said, "I believed we were going to win the game before the game. I thought we were going to win the game during the game. And I thought we should have won the game."

The Miami Heat had other plans as the imposing Lebron James and company got to work with about 8 minutes to go in the game.  The Heat systematically dug out of the hole and tied the game with just over a minute to play with a Lebron James layup. 

After a Celtic miss on the other end of the court, the ball was now in Lebron’s hands with the lead up for grabs and seconds to go.  Lebron hit a 21 foot jumper giving the Heat the lead and subsequently the teams 23rd consecutive win. 

Lebron James, who was involved in all 13 of the final points, spoke about the streak after the win and said, "It means a lot, I know the history of the game. To be sitting in second place right now..for us to be there and doing it the way we want to do it, it means a lot."

The Miami Heat’s win streak now only is second to the 1971-72 Lakers who won 33 straight games.  The Heat will next travel to Lebron’s old stomping grounds and look to get their 24th straight win over the Cavaliers on Wednesday. 

Here’s the ESPN report: