LOS ANGELES _ The Miami Heat traded in a 25-point lead Sunday ... for a victory.
No, it wasn't textbook, but when you're up 23 at the start of the fourth quarter and then find yourself down two, you take this 104-101 victory Sunday over the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center and move on.
Once you catch your breath.
The Heat finally were able to somewhat exhale after James Johnson converted a pair of free throws with 8.7 seconds to play.
From there, the Clippers isolated Blake Griffin on Heat center Hassan Whiteside, with Griffin off with his jumper.
Then, with nine-tenths of a second to play, Josh Richardson converted a pair of free throws to close out the scoring.
Whiteside led the Heat with 21 points and 17 rebounds, with Griffin scoring 23 for the Clippers, the Heat this time finding the way at the finish they couldn't in Friday's loss to the Denver Nuggets.
The best of times quickly shifted to the worst, with the Clippers scoring the first 16 points of the fourth quarter to trim what had been a 23-point Heat lead to open the period to 89-82.
The Heat did not score their first points of the fourth quarter until James Johnson converted inside with 7:54 left.
The Clippers' surge came with Whiteside on the Heat bench, with the Heat center returning only after the lead was down to seven.
The Heat consistently searched for salvation from the 3-point arc, missing their first 10 such attempts in the second half.
A Lou Williams jumper followed by a pair of Heat turnovers left the Clippers in possession down 93-90 with 3:26 to play. Off that sequence, a three-point play by center DeAndre Jordan tied it 93-93 _ all of what had been a 25-point Heat lead gone.
And with 2:55 to play, a pair of Blake Griffin gave the Clippers a 95-93 lead.
That's when Josh Richardson stepped up with a 3-pointer for the Heat and a 96-95 lead.
With 1:59 to play, Heat guard Goran Dragic got to the line, making both foul shots for a 98-95 lead.
But back came Williams with a driving runner to bring the Clippers within 98-97.
A Whiteside dunk made it 100-97 Heat with 1:29 to play.
But Griffin earned a trip to the line with 43.2 seconds to play, making both to bring the Clippers within 100-99.
Dragic then drove himself into a turnover and Wesley Johnson scored in transition with 26 seconds left for a 101-100 Clippers lead.
After yet another turnover, the Heat finally caught a break, with Clippers guard Austin Rivers missing a pair of free throws with 16.8 seconds to play.
The Heat then worked the ball to James Johnson, who worked his way to the line with 8.7 seconds to play. After making his previous two foul shots, Johnson this time made both for a 102-101 Heat lead.
The Heat then forced the Clippers to burn their final two timeouts before the game's deciding sequence.
It was not the optimal approach in the first game of a back-to-back set that concludes Monday at Oracle Arena against the Golden State Warriors.
The Heat had to alter their starting backcourt for the first time this season, with shooting guard Dion Waiters back in South Florida for the birth of his daughter. Waiters could rejoin the Heat as soon as Monday night's game against the Warriors, the third stop on this season-longest six-game trip.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra inserted Justise Winslow into the first unit for the first time this season, moving Josh Richardson from small forward to shooting guard. The starting lineup was rounded out by Whiteside, Dragic and Okaro White, who started at power forward for the third consecutive game.
With Waiters out, it opened additional time for reserve shooting guard Wayne Ellington, who 11-point first half included a driving transition dunk.
Fouls became an issue for both teams early in the third period, with Winslow called for his fourth foul 53 seconds into the second half, with Spoelstra electing to keep him on the floor. But when Dragic was called for his fourth foul with 8:45 left in the third period, Spoelstra went to the bench for Tyler Johnson.
Griffin then found himself in foul trouble, when he was called for his fourth foul shortly after Dragic went to the bench. With the Clippers down 19, Clippers coach Doc Rivers left Griffin in the game.
The Clippers already were without starting small forward Danilo Gallinari, who did not return for the second half due to a thigh contusion.
Through it all, the Heat this time put together the type of third quarter that had mostly been lacking this season, pushing their lead to 25 in the third period and taking an 89-66 advantage into the fourth, their largest lead through three quarters this season.
And then came the horror show to open the fourth.
As they often have this season, the Heat burst out of the gates at the outset, pushing to a 34-20 lead at the end of the first period, increasing that lead to 19 in the second period and going into the intermission up 62-49.
The halftime lead could have been more substantial, with the Clippers instead scoring five points in the final 2.6 seconds of the second period.
With the Heat up 18, Griffin scored on a driving dunk and was fouled with those 2.6 seconds left in the half. He then missed the ensuing free throw, with the ball going out of bounds to the Heat with 1.9 seconds to play in the second period. But that's when James Johnson threw the inbounds pass to former Heat center Willie Reed, who converted his second career 3-pointer.
The Heat, in fact, had played the entire first period without a turnover, with their first of the game coming with 9:07 left in the second period on an errant pass from James Johnson to Tyler Johnson.
