Members of 1971-72 Lakers weigh in on end of Heat streak
The 1972 Miami Dolphins have gotten plenty of mileage out of celebrating the demise of every unbeaten NFL team.
Things are a little more complicated with the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, who set the NBA record 33-game winning streak. One player on that team was current Miami Heat president Pat Riley.
Fox Sports Florida tracked down a few key members of that Lakers squad. They didn’t throw a party, but they weren’t crying, either, about the Heat’s streak-snapping loss to the Bulls.
“Yes, I’m happy, of course, we still have the record, but it wouldn’t have been the end of the world if we didn’t,” Gail Goodrich told the site. “I thought (the Heat) really a chance to do it, but it just shows what a significant record it is and how difficult it is to do it.
“We’ve had it for 41 years, and I guess we’ll have it for at least another year. That’s good.”
Former Lakers forward Keith Erickson was in a business meeting but was thinking about Miami’s 27-game streak.
“I got a text from my wife and it said, ‘Ha. Chicago beat Miami.’ That made me smile,” Erickson said. “It was fun to see how close they came. I never thought that anybody could break that record. But then when Miami got that close, I thought they had a legitimate chance to do it. They were playing so well.
“But it’s fun to know (the record remains with the Lakers). Now, I don’t think that anybody will ever break it. I will enjoy continuing to be part of it.”
Miami takes a moment:When the end finally arrived for Miami#146;s winning streak, coach Erik Spoelstra held a celebration of the second-longest run in American professional sports history.#147;I had everyone come in and put a hand on each other,#148; Spoelstra said after the game. #147;It was the first time I had mentioned the streak. It was a heck of an experience to have together.#147;Its significance will mean much more to us later in our careers. I asked them all to share the moment with each other.#148;LeBron James and Dwyane Wade insisted there was very little talk about the streak or a desire to break the Lakers#146; record.#147;It really didn#146;t matter to us,#148; Wade said. #147;If you get it, it#146;s awesome. If you don#146;t, we still won 27 games in a row and that#146;s pretty awesome. We really weren#146;t in here going, #145;Man, we#146;ve got to get that record.#146; Not at all. Now that it#146;s over. I#146;m glad it#146;s over.#148;Added James: #147;We haven#146;t had a moment to really know what we just did. So we had a moment. Just very fortunate and very humbled and blessed to be a part of this team and be part of a streak like that. It was one of the best this league had ever seen. So we recognized that, and rightfully so.#148;Butler downplays dunk:LeBron James got plenty of attention when he knocked down Boston guard Jason Terry while finishing an alley-oop dunk a few weeks ago.Jimmy Butler had an answer in the third quarter of Wednesday#146;s game, throwing down a one-hand dunk while Miami#146;s Chris Bosh backed into his chest.#147;I feel like it was 2 points and Lu (Deng) got an assist,#148; Butler shrugged. #147;Just like any other basket, it just happened to be a momentum shifter and the crowd really got into it.#148;