MIAMI _ Dion Waiters is becoming a thing. So are the Miami Heat, albeit with a won-loss record that somewhat tempers the enthusiasm.
That got the Golden State Warriors' attention Monday night at AmericanAirlines Arena, Which, just by itself, speaks volumes.
In a twist as surprising as completing a 4-0 homestand, the Heat pushed past the Warriors, 105-102, on a Waiters 3-pointer in a tie game with six-tenths of a second to play.
In the big picture, the Warriors exited with a 38-7 record, the Heat at 15-30.
But for a night, the role reversal was stark.
Waiters, coming off a career-high-tying 33 points Saturday night against the Milwaukee Bucks, closed with another 33, supported by 19 from Goran Dragic and 10 points and 15 rebounds from Hassan Whiteside.
The Warriors were led by their three perimeter stars, with Kevin Durant scoring 27, Klay Thompson 22 and Stephen Curry 21, the 15th time this season the three had each scored at least 20 points in the same game.
And, yet, somehow, it turned into Dion Waiters night, after a frantic, wild, wonderful finish for the home crowd.
After the Heat pushed their lead to double digits in the fourth quarter, the Warriors went to a hack-a-Hassan approach with 3:10 left, with Whiteside missing both free throws to drop the Heat to 15 of 25 from the line and Whiteside to 2 of 5. It would be a recurring theme.
Moments later, Whiteside was removed, with Thompson following that substitution with a 3-pointer that drew the Warriors within 98-93. Durant followed with a 3-pointer of his own with 1:54 left to make it 98-96.
But that's when Waiters responded with a 3-pointer of his own for a 101-96 Heat lead with 1:31 to play. Durant countered moments later to draw the Warriors within 101-98 with 50.1 seconds to play, with a Shaun Livingston basket in transition after a Waiters miss pulling Golden State within 101-100 with 21.4 seconds to play.
Forced to foul, the Warriors sent Dragic to the line with 17.6 seconds left. At 7 of 11 from the line to that stage, Dragic made only the second for a 102-100 Heat lead, the Heat ultimately finishing at 16 of 27 from the line.
A driving dunk by Durant tied it, with Waiters then following with his dramatic 3-pointer with sixth-tenths of a second to play, implored by Heat coach Erik Spoelstra to shoot sooner, but confident in his ability to create such a moment.
The Heat played a second consecutive game in the absence of Tyler Johnson, who again sat out with strained left shoulder. Johnson was injured during Thursday's victory over the Dallas Mavericks and then was held out of Saturday's victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
For their part, the Warriors announced Monday afternoon that forward Andre Iguodala would be given the night off for rest, after taking the same approach with Livingston in Sunday's victory over the Orlando Magic. Thompson was given the game off to rest during the teams' previous meeting, the Warriors' victory Jan. 10 at Oracle Arena.
Should Johnson miss an additional game and then be ruled out for an additional two weeks _ with no indication yet on the expected length of this absence _ the Heat then could apply for an additional roster exception. The Heat used that approach with Josh Richardson's strained left foot to add Okaro White to the roster.
"We'll continue to evaluate him every day," Spoelstra said of Johnson. "It's a little bit better than yesterday, but not good enough to play. It's a strain more than the injury. It's different than last year."
Without Johnson, Spoelstra again was down to starting guards Dragic and Waiters as his only available backcourt ballhandlers.
In addition to being without Johnson and Richardson, the Heat also remained without sidelined forwards Justise Winslow and Josh McRoberts, who also have served as playmakers for the Heat this season.
In addition to not playing Iguodala, the Warriors were without David West because of a thumb injury.
The game turned chippy with 6:51 to play, when Heat forward Luke Babbitt was called for a technical foul and Warriors center Zaza Pachulia a flagrant foul.
Curry missed a free throw awarded to the Warriors, with Babbitt converting both of the free throws for the flagrant for a 92-84 Heat lead. With the Heat retaining possession because of the flagrant foul, Dragic then was fouled and converted one of two foul shots for a 93-84 Heat lead with 6:43 left.
The Heat moved to an 80-73 lead early in the fourth quarter, only to see the Warriors respond with an 8-0 run to move ahead. Later, a White 3-point play moved the Heat to an 85-82 lead. Then, a Babbitt desperation 3-pointer near the expiration of the shot clock gave the Heat a 90-84 lead.
A 10-0 run, sparked by a Waiters 3-pointer pushed the Heat to a 75-71 lead late in the third period. The Heat then went into the fourth up 77-73.
The Warriors held a 48-46 halftime lead.
After pushing to a nine-point first period lead, the Heat found themselves down 30-28 going into the second quarter, after Curry stepped up to close the opening 12 minutes with 11 points, fueling a 15-4 run.
The Warriors won the first game of the two-game season series 107-95, behind 28 points from Durant and 24 from Curry. Whiteside led the Heat in that loss with 28 points and 20 rebounds.
The Heat entered having lost the previous five meetings. The Warriors had won their previous four visits to AmericanAirlines Arena.
The Warriors entered on a seven-game winning streak, coming off Sunday's 118-98 victory in Orlando.
