The Chicago Bulls defeated the Miami Heat 101-97 tonight and the 27-game winning streak for Miami got snapped.
It was the performance of small forward Luol Deng that paved the way for the Bulls. He finished with 28 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals in the 101-97 victory.
Chicago withstood a late fourth quarter charge by Miami, who got within six with one minute remaining as LeBron James made a few key shots. He, also ended the contest with 32 points. It was all for not for the Heat as their winning streak — good for the second longest in NBA history came to an end.
The Heat’s bid for history ended as they could did not quite reach the 1971-1972 Los Angeles Lakers‘ 33 game winning streak.
With a team headlined by NBA Hall of Famers Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain, that 1971-72 squad became arguably one of the best teams in history, just behind the 72-win 1995-1996 Bulls.
Although the Heat were responsible for a tremendous accomplishment with their almost two-month streak, this stretch does not quite elevate them to the greatest teams in history, it does cement Miami as favorites to win the 2013 NBA Finals come this June.
For more coverage of the end of the Miami Heat’s streak, check out Steven Resnick’s article here.