MIAMI -- Things could have spiraled out of control for the Miami Heat Sunday afternoon in the third quarter.
A series of technical fouls left the Heat without point guard Goran Dragic in the midst of a comeback against the Portland Trail Blazers.
But forward Chris Bosh's consistency shooting and in the paint and clutch performances from center Hassan Whiteside and guard Gerald Green helped Miami secure a 116-109 victory over the Blazers at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Led by Bosh's 29 points and Whiteside's 22 points and 11 rebounds, the Heat (16-10) matched a season high for points and 3-pointers made with 12 to secure their fourth win in their past five games. The 64 points scored in the second half was one point short of the team's season high in that category.
Five Heat players scored in double figures as Green and forward Luol Deng each had 17 points and guard Dwyane Wade had 18.
"It was heroic in the second half, but I liked us showing some mental stability and competitive toughness while things were not necessarily going our way, and instead of getting caught up in the officiating we just competed and played basketball," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Portland guard Damian Lillard finished with a game-high 32 points to lead the Blazers (11-18), who dropped 13 three-pointers of their own, but lost their third consecutive game and fourth in the past five. Lillard finished the game despite feeling some pain in his left foot.
"I just have some pain in my plantar fascia," Lillard said. "It was just in the action. It was a little bit sore and I took off to get in the lane one time and it got a little tight, a little sore. It was late third quarter."
Lillard also had nine assists, and guard C.J. McCollum finished with 20 points and six assists. But their efforts couldn't hold off the Heat late as Miami dominated in the paint and got some more clutch shooting off the bench.
Green hit four thee-pointers, including back-to-back threes that put the Heat ahead 103-97 with 4:48 left in fourth, a lead they would not relinquish. Deng hit his first five 3-pointers, which is the most in a game in his time with the Heat.
"That was pretty much the biggest thing of the game, their three-point shooting," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "Obviously Whiteside had a huge impact on the game. It was a good offensive night for us, but like I said Miami shot the ball very well."
The Blazers cut the deficit to four points at 110-106 with 1:30 left on a layup by center Mason Plumlee.
An alley-oop dunk by Whiteside off a perfect feed from Wade swung the momentum back in the Heat's favor and helped Miami put the game away. The Heat had one of their best shooting performances of the season overall, shooting 57.3 percent (43 of 75) from the field.
"It was a great feeling, just being able to contribute in the fourth quarter and getting to finish the game out with my teammates," Whiteside said.
The Blazers outrebounded the Heat 42-30. But the Heat outscored the Blazers 40-36 in the paint and rallied after Portland had led by as many as 12 in the first half. Miami won for only the fifth time in 14 games this season when it has not outrebounded an opponent.
"Our best basketball of the game was in that fourth quarter when it could have been a frustrating quarter, so we'll build on that," Spoelstra said.
Dragic, who was ejected for the first time in the NBA, said he walked back to the locker room and was walking in circles in disbelief. He said the only thing he told referee James Williams on the second technical was "What?"
"I was mad," Dragic said. "I couldn't watch the game."
NOTES: The Heat sat out G Tyler Johnson (shoulder) and F Josh McRoberts (knee). ... Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he wants Johnson to go through a full-contact practice without a setback before playing him in a game. Johnson, who played for five-plus minutes against Brooklyn on Dec. 16, has missed five of his past six games. ... McRoberts missed his sixth consecutive game. "He had a bone bruise and we were trying to calm it down, but it just didn't get better. The only thing that we felt could calm it down would be just rest," Spoelstra said. ... Trail Blazers F Cliff Alexander (left knee) missed his seventh game of the season. ... Portland coach Terry Stotts praised G Damian Lillard's ability to become more of a leader this season. Stotts also said G C.J. McCollum has worked hard to get stronger physically. Lillard and McCollum entered Sunday's game averaging a combined 44.4 points per game -- the third-best scoring duo in the league.
