PHILADELPHIA _ Finally, the magic ran out.
During the past month, the Miami Heat had defeated the league's best and one of the top teams in the Western Conference. They rallied from fourth-quarter, double-digit deficits. They defeated the sub. 500 teams they were supposed to.
But after a remarkable run, it came to an end.
The Heat saw their 13-game winning streak snapped with a 117-109 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers Saturday at Wells Fargo Center. After weeks of downplaying it, they can now reflect on what has been the league's best stretch of winning this season.
They surpassed the Golden State Warriors, whom they defeated during the run, for most consecutive wins. The Heat did everything possible to keep the feel-good story going but were unable to pull off another comeback.
Trailing 100-89, they scored seven straight points and closed to within four on James Johnson's three-point play with 4 minutes, 43 seconds left. The Sixers responded with a 3-pointer by Robert Covington. After the Heat committed a shot-clock violation on the next possession, the Sixers sealed it with two free throws by forward Dario Saric.
Goran Dragic led the Heat with 30 points and five rebounds while forward James Johnson added 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Guard Tyler Johnson added 17 points off the bench and Hassan Whiteside finished with 12 points and 19 rebounds.
Covington, Saric and center Nerlens Noel led seven Sixers players in double-figures with 19 points each.
One more victory and the Heat would have tied the second-longest winning streak in franchise history. That remains with the 2004-05 team, which advanced to the Eastern Conference finals with Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade.
Not even that pair might have helped prolong the streak. Not on this night, when the Heat always seemed a step slow or out of position. The loose balls they grabbed the last month went the other way. The shots that fell just rimmed out.
In short, it was time.
From the beginning, the Heat had the look of an exhausted team. Aside from the pressure of the winning streak, they were playing their fourth road game in six days. This was the second night of a back-to-back and it showed throughout, especially in the first half.
It didn't help they were playing without guard Dion Waiters for a third straight game because of a sprained ankle. The Sixers were also short-handed, with Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor sidelined by injuries.
Even against a limited lineup, the Heat still trailed most of the way and struggled for the most part with the exception of a brief spark led by guard Dragic. He scored 13 points in the first half, including a short jumper that tied it at 41 with 6:16 remaining. When Dragic headed to the bench is when the Heat ran into problems.
The Sixers regained control by scoring the game's next nine points. A Covington 3-pointer made it 50-41, causing the Heat to enter halftime trailing for a second straight night. They were in the hole mostly because their inability to take care of the ball.
The Heat had 11 of their 20 turnovers in the opening half, with Dragic committing a season-high six. It took Dragic all of two minutes in the second half before making his career-high seventh turnover on an errant pass that capped a 5-0 run to put the Sixers ahead 59-48 on Noel's break-away dunk.
