Where Battier Goes, Winning Streaks Follow The question of whether it is better to be loved or hated may never be answered satisfactorily, but when it comes to Shane Battier, there is no need to choose. He is loved and hated with equal passion, based almost entirely on how one feels about Duke basketball. As the Miami Heat work their way toward the N.B.A. record of 33 consecutive victories, Battier, a Duke graduate, is providing plenty of ammunition for both camps, playing a key role for a team that since LeBron James's "Decision" might as well be the Blue Devils of the N.B.A. His success is a perfect storm for those who love to hate Duke. "He's just an avatar for Duke on the N.B.A."s best and most hated team," said D. J. Gallo, the editor of SportsPickle, a sports satire Web site. You mix Duke with the Heat, and you get a strong brew of fan hatred. In Wednesday's comeback win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Battier, a forward, came off the bench for the last 5 minutes 50 seconds of the third quarter with his team behind by 24 points. By the end of the quarter, he was 3 for 4 from 3-point range, and the deficit was down to 9. In the end, the Heat won their 24th in a row, rallying from 27 behind, with Battier on the court as part of the crunchtime unit that included James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The streak stretched to 25 games with a win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday. Next up will be the Charlotte Bobcats on Sunday night. Always known as an intelligent player with a knack for defense, Battier has raised his game as a shooter during the streak, averaging 51.4 percent from 3-point range and effectively replacing Ray Allen as the Heat's go-to option from long range. For Battier, the streak is nothing new. There have been only four single-season winning streaks of at least 20 games in N.B.A. history and he has been part of two of them, having been a starter on the Houston Rockets team that won 22 consecutive games in 2007-8. But neither streak qualifies as Battier's longest; he was a starter during Duke's 32-game run in 1998-99. Had Battier not been born in 1978, it would be tempting to examine footage from the streaks of the Milwaukee Bucks (20) and Los Angeles Lakers (33) in the early 1970s for Forrest Gump-like appearances by him. Not only is Battier the only player to participate in two 20-game streaks, but his contributions to those streaks, and to Duke's, were significant. As a sophomore for a Blue Devils team led by Elton Brand and Corey Maggette, Battier shot 42 percent from 3-point range during the streak, reaching double figures 13 times, with a high of 27 points. During the Rockets" runs, he made 39.8 percent of his 3-point attempts and scored as many as 20 in a game. His high during the Heat's streak is 17 points, on Feb. 20 against Atlanta, and his well-timed 3-pointers have been a staple of Miami's ability to come from behind. Not that any of this success will persuade Battier's detractors to reconsider. A Web search of "Shane Battier hate" produces thousands of results, with one of the most recent being his No. 5 seeding in Grantland's Most Hated College Basketball Players of the Last 30 Years bracket. To many, Duke is Duke, and that fact remains an obstacle to widespread popularity for Battier, regardless of how polite or humble he seems. He lost in the first round of the Duke Regional to Steve Wojciechowski, a player who was less polarizing and more infuriating. "They may all enter Duke as unique individuals, but they all leave as Christian Laettner," Gallo said of the Duke star who finished on top of the Grantland bracket. There's no way around it. "Battier isn't completely innocent, either," he continued. His introduction to sports fans was as the guy who took a lot of charges. Fundamentally sound play or not, a 6-8, 225-pound guy taking charges all the time looks soft. It looks like it's taking advantage of the rules. It looks like Duke. Battier has long been known for his defense, which has consisted of the aforementioned charges and his habit of throwing a hand in an opponent's face as he attempts to shoot. "I absolutely hate it," Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder told reporters during last season's N.B.A. finals, which Miami won in five games. That was music to Battier's ears. He may not be known as a villain in the same sense as Laettner, but he is willing to do anything to win, and Durant's acknowledgment that the face covering is effective was exactly what he was looking for. Battier said to reporters. Someone finally admitted it. This season, Battier's defense has slipped. Through Wednesday, he had allowed roughly 108 points per 100 possessions, a regression from 102 points last season. But his improved shooting had more than compensated, with 122 points of offense per 100 possessions, compared with 108 points last season. Battier has adapted his game to his team's needs and won at every stop, and if some fans do not like him, at least he seems in on the joke. His charity, which focuses on educational opportunities for youth leaders in Miami, Houston and Detroit, is the Battier Take Charge Foundation.