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Lakers riding longest winning streak in four years

Feb 28, 2008 - 1:31 PM Miami (10-44) at LA Lakers (40-17) 10:30 pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) - The Los Angeles Lakers current winning streak could be a sign of things to come this season.

The Lakers go for their 10th straight win on Thursday when they host the lowly Miami Heat.

Los Angeles picked up its season-high ninth consecutive victory on Tuesday, overcoming a 15-point first-quarter deficit en route to a 96-83 triumph over the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Lakers hadn't won nine-straight since the 2003-04 season, which was the last time they reached the NBA Finals.

"We're having a lot of fun, and that's the key to our success," said Jordan Farmar, who had a season-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting. "We're playing together, having fun, we're enjoying the challenges like (Tuesday night), and it's great."

Meanwhile, the Heat finally snapped out of a month-long funk with a 107-86 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday. Shawn Marion scored 24 points to lead Miami, which ended an 11-game losing streak.

Marion scored 20-plus points for the Heat for the third time in six games since coming over from Phoenix in the Shaquille O'Neal trade.