In late January of 1967, the Cincinnati Royals were scheduled to play on six consecutive days – the Miami Heat wrapped up the modern NBA’s equivalent of such a marathon Wednesday evening against the Celtics in the TD Garden. The surprising early-season contenders from South Beach were competing for the eight time in 12 “playing dates” (13 days), six times on the road.
Fittingly for a “marathon” concluding in Boston, the Heat had to face their “Heartbreak Hill” the night before in Toronto, a hard-earned Overtime victory over the defending champions.
Miami started strong in both ends of this week’s tough back-to-back, assuming early leads and playing from in front through most of the first half … but thanks in part to the prior evening’s extended play, the Spoelstra-less (Congrats, Pop!