MIAMI _ This should have been a weekend of celebration for the Miami Heat.
With Friday night's 123-105 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves at AmericanAirlines Arena, they both got to go to bed and wake up in playoff position, courtesy of Friday losses by the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons.
And now, with a victory Sunday over the Portland Trail Blazers in the third game of this five-game homestand, there is the opportunity to reach .500 for the first time since splitting their first two games of the season.
But in a season that included the harsh reality of 11-30 at midseason, reality bit again Friday night, this time with shooting guard Dion Waiters lost for the night in the second quarter with a sprained left ankle.
And once again, the Heat, now 34-35, fought through adversity, this time with Tyler Johnson scoring 23 points, Goran Dragic 19 and Hassan Whiteside racking up his 11th consecutive double-double, with 23 points and 14 rebounds.
Against the unbridled potential of the Timberwolves, it all was needed, with Karl-Anthony Town scoring 31 points, Andrew Wiggins 26 and Ricky Rubio 20 for Minnesota.
The Heat now have won 23 of their last 28 games, including 15 of their last 16 home games.
The Heat lost Waiters with what initially appeared to be a serious injury with 3:07 to play in the second quarter. The Heat shortly thereafter announced the injury as a sprained left ankle, with X-rays coming back negative.
Waiters first was carried off the court and then carried into the locker room, unable to put weight on his left ankle.
Waiters, who was fouled on the play, was unable to shoot the resulting two free throws.
The Timberwolves then were allowed to select the replacement shooter, with Waiters, by rule, therefore ineligible to return to the game.
Minnesota selected backup center Willie Reed for the attempts, with Reed making one of the two resulting free throws. The Heat then intentionally fouled to get Reed out of the game.
Waiters wound up playing just 12 minutes, closing with six points, three assists and two rebounds.
The Heat struggled for continuity when Waiters missed 20 games from late November to early December with a groin injury, but then went 2-1 in his absence with a sprained left ankle in early February. He has started in 43 of his 46 appearances this season.
Wayne Ellington started Friday's second half in place of Waiters.
As for Friday night's game, a 3-pointer by Dragic midway through the fourth quarter lifted the Heat to a 106-98 lead, with an alley-oop form Dragic to Whiteside and then a Whiteside three-point play later pushing the Heat to a 113-110 lead with 5:01 left.
With Tyler Johnson scoring 15 points in the third period, the Heat went into the fourth up 90-81. Whiteside by then had his 11th consecutive double-double, tying Rony Seikaly's franchise record.
With Ellington starting the second half in place of Waiters, the Timberwolves cut their 15-point halftime deficit to three by the middle of the third quarter, with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra then turning to Tyler Johnson for an energy infusion.
Despite losing Waiters late in the second period, the Heat went into the intermission up 64-49, with James Johnson converting a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds to play before halftime.
The Heat pushed to an eight-point lead in the first period and took a 27-23 advantage into the second quarter, despite 13 points from Wiggins to that stage.
A game after leading the Heat with 33 points, Dragic opened 1 of 5 for the Heat at a point when the rest of his teammates were 9 of 11.
The Heat won the first game of the two-game season series, 115-113, Feb. 6 at Target Center, behind 33 points from Dragic, despite 35 points from Towns.
The Heat entered seeking their first season sweep of the Timberwolves since 2012-13. The Heat has lost two of the previous three meetings at AmericanAirlines Arena, including a 12-point home loss last season.
The Timberwolves were coming off Wednesday's 117-104 loss in Boston, at 5-3 in their previous eight games.
The Heat remained without Justise Winslow (shoulder), Josh McRoberts (foot) and Chris Bosh (blood clots), with the Timberwolves without out Lance Stephenson (ankle), Nemanja Bjelica (ankle), Zach LaVine (knee) and Nikola Pekovic (ankle).
