Miami in sight of lofty 33-win mark

Despite moving to within eight more consecutive wins of matching the milestone set by Jerry West and the 1971-72 Lakers, the Heat still insisted after pulling away from the Pistons that they’re not going to get ahead of themselves.

Instead, Spoelstra and his star players took time Friday to acknowledge a couple of legendary Lakers who jumped on a Heat bandwagon that’s potentially headed toward history.

After putting up 28 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and two steals to help the Heat cruise past the Pistons, LeBron James repeatedly spoke of how appreciative he is it to receive encouragement from West and Elgin Baylor as Miami closes in on the Lakers’ 41-year-old record.

Baylor, who retired the season before the Lakers won 33 in a row, told NBA TV earlier this week that the Heat’s toughness and tenacity during the streak has been fantastic, and that he’s enjoying watching them make their run.

Should Miami get through that stretch without a loss, their next four games are against home against New York, at Charlotte and back home for a potential chance to tie the streak against Philadelphia and break it against Milwaukee.

“It’s going to be a tough road for them because everybody is going to be out there gunning for them — none of the teams want them to break a record or set a record against them,” Baylor told NBA TV.

He spoke highly of James’ unselfish play and gushed about how, despite the Heat’s star power, they’ve forced everyone to appreciate the beauty and dominance of team basketball.

The Heat guard smiled coyly when asked after Friday’s game how he felt about some of the glowing comments by the Lakers’ greats.

Wade then said that “if the shoe is on the other foot,” he would be proud to be on the team that ended the Heat’s streak.

For now, Wade said he’s having just as much fun watching and listening to all of the pundits on national TV and radio try to predict when the Heat’s streak might end.