23 STRAIGHT FOR THE HEAT

The Miami Heat took their historic winning streak into the TD Garden Monday evening for a matchup with one of their most heated rivals, the Boston Celtics. Despite Kevin Garnett missing the game due to flu-like symptoms, the Celtics were more than ready to give LeBron James and company a fight to the finish.

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Boston was ready to make Bill Simmons's prediction of the Celtics ending the Heat's 22 game winning streak come true on Monday evening. The Celtics had a double digit lead throughout the majority of the first three quarters. Future hall of famer Kevin Garnett missed the game due to flu-like symptoms, however that did not stop Boston from giving the Heat's winning streak a serious scare. With KG sidelined with the flu, Boston's Jeff Green picked up the slack with an amazing 43 point performance against the associations hottest team a best player. Green was sharp and gave the Celtics a legit chance of ending the Heat's historic run. The Heat woke up out of their funk in the final quarter. Miami charged back and found themselves in a tie game in the final minute of the game. LeBron James hit a cold blooded dagger with ten seconds left in the game to give the Heat a 105-103 lead. Jeff Green went for a game tying layup which was blocked by the Heat. Boston had one final try to tie the game or win the game with a three, however the Celtics could not convert and the Heat left Boston with the victory.

The King certainly played like a MVP in Boston Monday evening. LeBron had 37 points and 12 assists in the win. Miami now is on a 23 game win streak. With the win on Monday Miami passed the Rockets to move into second on the all-time win streaks list. Only the Showtime Lakers streak of 33 games is better than the Heat's current 23 game run. Miami's win was also their first regular season win in Boston since 2007. The Heat looks to continue their streak with matchups against Cleveland, Detroit and the Charlotte Bobcats this week. Boston looks to bounce back with matchups against New Orleans on Wednesday, at Dallas on Friday, and at Memphis on Saturday.

- Joe Passarelli