For a half Thursday, Eddie Jones and the Heat continued their most inspired stretch of the season.

Then, suddenly, both ended with a thud, as did the Heat's six-game winning streak.

Buried in a sea of second-half turnovers and overwhelmed by the quickness of Magic guards Darrell Armstrong and Troy Hudson, the Heat squandered an 11-point lead in a 92-87 loss to Orlando.

``They were reeling, and we threw the game away,'' said Heat coach Pat Riley, whose team scored 11 straight to lead 55-44 early in the third quarter. ``We became careless, started making a lot of mistakes.''

Jones, who scored 18 in the first half on 7-for-9 shooting, made just 3 of 11 shots in a 10-point second half.

``I don't think Eddie [who's 6-6] played with the same kind of force when they put [6-1] Armstrong on him,'' Riley said. ``Darrell gave them CPR.''

Said Jones: ``Believe me -- it wasn't his defense. I have to shoot over him.''

Alonzo Mourning, who scored nine points in the first 5:39, didn't score again until a free throw midway through the fourth quarter and closed with 15. Consecutive dunks by Mourning pulled the Heat within 86-84 with 1:39 left, but Mike Miller hit a big three.

``They beat the [expletive] out of Zo,'' Riley said. ``That's what Zo deals with every night. They beat him, hit him. We've called the league about it before. He can't even get position. . . . The officials feel sorry for someone who's undersized playing him, and they give them liberties. Other than Shaquille O'Neal, Zo gets hit harder than any other man in the league. It's amazing he hasn't taken anyone's head off along the way.''

Mourning agreed: ``It's obvious. It's ridiculous.''

Miami, efficient offensively for much of this winning streak, committed eight turnovers in the third quarter and four in the fourth. The Heat shot 33.3 percent (6 for 18) in the fourth.

Armstrong and Hudson, often in tandem, tormented Miami. Armstrong had 11 of his 18 points (including two electrifying transition dunks) and three of his four steals after halftime. Hudson, who had two steals, scored 12 of his 17 in the second half.

The Magic, which ran off an 8-0 run to pull ahead by nine in the fourth quarter, didn't even need a big night from Tracy McGrady, who scored 17 on 6-of-17 shooting.

Rod Strickland and Jones committed four turnovers apiece, while Mourning, Kendall Gill and Jim Jackson had three each. ``Everybody's upset,'' Jones said.

Said Mourning: ``I know we're a better team than them.''

The Heat, which received 7-of-22 shooting from its reserves, stayed close partly because the Magic missed 14 of 38 free throws. Also, Orlando was charged with five technical fouls.


Brian Grant (seven points, eight boards) mustered one rebound and no points in 12 second-half minutes. Riley implied Grant, averaging 9.4 points, shouldn't be expected to match last season's 15.2 scoring average because ``he was featured more last year. He's playing against quicker forwards. I want him to focus on the work ethic part of the game and not get so frustrated because he's not scoring.''

Magic coach Doc Rivers is mystified by criticism of Riley, his former coach in New York: ``It was the best experience I ever had, because he's demanding but he's not abusive at all. He's not screaming at you every play. Everything he talks about is the team winning, sacrifice, knowing your roles. If that's demanding, we've got a big problem in our league.
``Never did I feel uncomfortable playing for him, because he wasn't going to yank or berate you. I laugh when people say he's this ogre.

``He really believes he can get that team to the playoffs. They are dangerous. I don't know if they can make the playoffs, but . . . they are going to be a pain in the behind for everyone that's trying to.''