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Heat look to avoid 15th straight loss vs. Spurs

Jan 24, 2008 - 2:51 PM San Antonio (27-13) at Miami (8-32) 8:00 pm EST

MIAMI (Ticker) -- The Miami Heat have gone from championship contenders to one of the laughingstocks of the Eastern Conference.

The Heat look to avoid their 15th straight loss when they host the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday.

The NBA champion in 2006, Miami owns the worst record in the Eastern Conference this season and is stuck with an aging, injured roster and very little hope for salary cap relief in the near future.

Shaquille O'Neal is owed $20 million over each of the next two seasons but is averaging a career low 14.2 points and is currently out indefinitely with hip and quad inflammation.

Superstar guard Dwyane Wade is still recovering from offseason surgery on his shoulder and knee and has been unable to carry the team by himself.

The Spurs should be another tough test. The reigning NBA champs earned a 103-91 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday on the strength of a 28-point, 17-rebound effort from Tim Duncan.

However, the road has not been kind to San Antonio, which is just 7-9 away from home.

Manu Ginobili, who scored 12 points on just 3-of-16 shooting on Tuesday, led the Spurs over the Heat in the first meeting between the teams this season. The Argentine swingman scored 25 points in an 88-78 win on November 7.