The Miami Heat are finally playing the winning style of basketball many expected them to this season. After finishing November with an underachieving 7-7 record and paving the way for all of us naysayers to overwork our keyboards, the Heat rebounded back in near perfect form to finish with a record-setting 15-1 record in the month of December.

Dwyane Wade put the icing on the cake for the record-setting month with another great outing, dropping 45 points in a 125-119 win over Houston on Wednesday. That win helped the Heat extend their road winning streak to 10 games and that victory not only set a franchise best mark of 10 road wins for the month but also set an NBA mark. This performance by the Heat marks the first time in NBA history that any team has won 10 consecutive road games in any calendar month.

Wade, who was coming off a 40-point effort against the Knicks, hit from all over the floor, nailing 17 of 24 shots and added a perfect night from the line going 10 of 10.

Remember that guy, LeBron James? Well he added 20 points to go along with nine assists and the sidekick Chris Bosh added another 21 points.

LeBron must feel relieved after starting the season on shaky ground. After “The Decision” drew loads of criticism and made villains out of the Heat, James and his Big Three stumbled out the gate and really played poor basketball, even on their home court.

That triggered speculation that the Heat would be possibly making a coaching change early in the season. All that may have changed now that the team is performing even higher than expectations.

“We’re just a different team now,” James said.

Yes you are, but you’re still the villain.

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Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

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