Hall of Famer Jerry West, one of the anchors of the Los Angeles Lakers' 1971-72 team and now a front-office consultant to the Golden State Warriors, told ESPN.com on Wednesday night that he had started to believe the Heat, at the very least, would match the Lakers' all-time record of 33 consecutive wins.

"I really thought they were going to do it," West said by phone after the Heat lost to the Chicago Bulls 101-97, ending their winning streak at 27. "I really did.

"It's a remarkable streak. I wasn't rooting against them at all. At halftime [of the Chicago game], I thought they were going to win the game. But all you need sometimes is a few things to go wrong.

"I think they're looking for bigger fish to fry. You know they're trying to win another championship, so I think this is just a blip in the road for them. But this [streak] was great for basketball. It was a great accomplishment. It creates incredible fan interest.

"People will talk about this forever."

Some members of the current Lakers said after their win Wednesday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves that they hadn't been keeping a countdown as the Heat crept toward 33.

"I guess now that it's over, it's nice that the Lakers still have it," guard Steve Blake said. "But it wasn't really followed too closely. We have too many other things for ourselves to worry about."

Still, Pau Gasol said what Miami was doing was pretty unavoidable.