MIAMI _ This was a game when the Miami Heat needed someone, anyone, to offer a spark on an afternoon of lethargy.
In the end, Josh Richardson took that challenge, scoring the winning basket on a driving layup with 5.1 seconds to play.
Against an opponent that entered searching for answers, Richardson offered only a punctuation mark as the Heat stormed back from a late eight-point deficit.
The result was a 103-102 victory Sunday over the Utah Jazz that sent the Heat into one of their moment challenging stretches of schedule on an up note, a season-best four-gam winning streak, with 11 of the next 14 on the road, starting Tuesday night against the Toronto Raptors.
While rookie guard Donovan Mitchell stepped up with 27 points for the Jazz, the Heat won with an ensemble approach.
Heat center Hassan Whiteside closed with 14 points and 10 rebounds, with Goran Dragic scoring 16, Tyler Johnson 16, Richardson 14, Kelly Olynyk 14 and James Johnson 13.
The Heat remained without Dion Waiters and Justise Winslow, with the Jazz without Rudy Gobert.
A step-back 3-pointer by James Johnson early in the fourth quarter pulled the Heat within 86-83, with the Jazz then scoring five straight points for a 91-83 lead, their largest to that stage.
Later, a 3-pointer by Tyler Johnson moved the Heat within 96-92 with 4:03 to play.
The Heat then moved to a smaller lineup without Whiteside, as they had done in the preceding victories over the Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks, with an Olynyk free throw drawing them within 98-95 with 2:23 to play.
Rodney Hood then converted a jumper in the lane to put the Jazz up 100-95, with Olynyk off with a drive on the other end.
From there, a Richardson dunk in transition got the Heat within 100-97 with 1:23 to play.
The Heat then forced a turnover, with possession confirmed by replay. That put Dragic to the line with 59.6 second left, with Dragic making both foul shots to draw the Heat within 100-99.
That's when Mitchell attacked the rim for a 102-99 Utah lead, with Olynyk getting to the line on the other end, making both to make it a 102-101 game with 37 seconds to play.
The Heat then attempted to play in transition off a missed Hood 3-pointer, before Heat coach Erik Spoelstra opted for a timeout with 7.8 seconds to play.
That's when Josh Richardson turned the corner for a layup with 5.1 seconds to play and a 103-102 Heat lead.
The Jazz then went to Mitchell, who was off with a wild running jumper before the buzzer.
The Jazz took a 75-74 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Heat entered 1-14 when trailing at the end of the third quarter this season, including 0-6 at home.
Mitchell was up to 21 points at that stage, with no Heat player with more than Dragic's 13 points to that point.
With Whiteside with eight points, four rebound and four blocks to that stage, the Heat went into halftime up 49-47, after previously leading by 10.
This time it was the opposition doing the damage from deep, with the Jazz outscoring the Heat 21-12 on 3-pointers over the opening 24 minutes.
The Heat pushed to an early seven-point lead and went into the second quarter up 27-22, with Tyler Johnson scoring seven in the quarter. Whiteside accidentally tipped in a defensive rebound for two Utah points in that first quarter, but also had three blocked shots during his opening stint.
The game concluded the two-game season series. The Heat won the first meeting 84-74 Nov. 10 in Salt Lake City, behind late shots from Waiters and a defense that held Utah to eight third-quarter points and 25 in the second half.
The Heat were seeking their first season sweep of the Jazz since 2008-09, having split the two the games with Utah each of the previous five seasons.
The Jazz entered having won two of the previous three meetings at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The game concluded a three-game homestand for the Heat, with seven of their next eight on the road.
The Heat entered on a three-game winning streak, yet to win four in a row this season. They were coming off Friday's 107-103 victory over the Knicks.
The game was the second on a four-game trip for the Jazz, who were coming off Friday's 99-91 loss to Denver, when no Utah player scored more than 15 points. The Jazz entered having lost 5 of 6.
