Back in December, I confessed to my deep and only semi-rational need to see Adrian Peterson fall short of Eric Dickerson’s single-season NFL rushing record. (And he did, in part because I willed it; that’s how fans think.)

Here’s one I probably care about more:

The Lakers’ NBA record of 33 consecutive victories.

You may have noticed the Miami Heat for a couple of months have been playing like the team we thought (feared) they would be when LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade down in Florida, in the summer of 2010.

They have not lost a game since February 1. Not in Boston, earlier this week, where they had not won a regular-season game since Kevin Garnett put on the Celtics uniform. Not in Cleveland last night, even though they trailed by 27 in the third quarter.

True story. I woke in the middle of the Abu Dhabi night, and I checked espn.com, as I often do … and I saw that Cleveland led Miami 55-34 at halftime — and I tried to imagine the energy in the arena, with the Cavaliers perhaps in position to end the streak at 23.

But even then, I thought the Heat would win. They would flip a switch. You can do that when you are really good … and the other guy is not very good at all, and that was what that matchup was about.

I read another story, online, and as I returned to espn.com maybe 15 minutes later I made a mental note of “I bet Miami is down no more than 10” … and they actually were up 88-81, having outscored the Cavs 54-26. Miami won, 98-95.

And now one of the favorite teams of my youth, the Lakers of 1971-72, are at serious risk of seeing their run of 33 consecutive victories eclipsed by this Miami team.

It is the second-longest streak in NBA history, and that was accomplishment enough to justify running a 500-word story on the streak, in The National.

I edited that piece, as The American in the Room that day, and we broke out a box that really brought home the danger to Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain & Co., and the longest winning streak in the history of North American professional sports. (See bottom of post for list.)

Take a look at the Heat’s schedule for their next 10 games: Detroit (23-46), Charlotte (16-52), at Orlando (18-51) at Chicago (36-31), at New Orleans (23-46), at San Antonio (52-16), Knicks (40-26), at Charlotte (16-52), Philadelphia (26-42), Milwaukee (34-33).

I have included records (in parans) to hammer home how weak that group of teams is, aside from the Spurs. They play nearly every awful team in the league, during that period, and get the worst team, Charlotte, twice.

The Spurs will hang with them, but the Spurs can’t match up with them, for star power. They play well together, but I am not sure they have another gear. They are good night in and night out, but Gregg Popovich has them playing close to their best all the time. That is why they have been so good in the regular season the past two times around, yet failed to reach the finals.

Miami can turn it on, and I believe they will, in that game in Texas.

Only three other games are against teams who would make the playoffs, at this point — against New York (which is missing Amare Stoudemire), against Chicago (still without Derrick Rose) and home against Milwaukee, who may make the playoffs because the Eastern Conference is so awful.

I don’t want West and Wilt and Gail Goodrich and Happy Hairston and Jim McMillian to have to give up that record. Even though his classy self, Zeke from Cabin Creek, said he is OK with the idea of the Heat breaking the Lakers’ streak.

Me? I will be bummed out. I’m not really over Michael Jordan’s Bulls winning 72 games in 1995-86 and wiping out the 1971-72 Lakers’ best-season record (69-13) … but if the Lakers lose the 33, I fear that a really special team will be forgotten.

At this point, I am a huge fan of whoever is playing the Miami Heat. Starting with the Detroit Pistons.

Longest winnings streaks in North American major pro sports:

33: Los Angeles Lakers, NBA (1971-72)

26: New York Giants, MLB (1916)

21: New England Patriots, NFL (2003-04)

17: Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL (1993)

15: Los Angeles Galaxy, MLS (1997-98)