Heat Remain Sleepers as Dwyane Wade, Goran Dragic Negate Kyle Lowry Miracle Shot

Kyle Lowry’s miraculous buzzer-beating half-court heave brought an anxious Toronto Raptors fanbase to life and Dwyane Wade to his knees.

But Wade ensured his battle-tested Miami Heat had the last laugh in Game 1 of this Eastern Conference Semifinals collision north of the border.

The three-time champion scored 11 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and overtime of Miami’s 102-96 series-opening win. He also tallied a pair of blocks during the last two minutes of regulation and two steals in the final minute of overtime—the last of which set up his game-sealing and-1 finish with just 1.8 seconds remaining.

Dwyane Tyrone Wade, Jr. seals the deal in Toronto!⚡️ pic.twitter.com/u84P3OVzcV

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) May 4, 2016

“Our defense was great,” Wade told TNT’s Kristen Ledlow. “Offensively, we got the ball in the guys’ hands that we wanted it in. But we won this game on the defensive end of the floor.”

It makes sense for Wade to focus on the defense and not just because he plays for Erik Spoelstra. Even with his late-game surge, Wade wasn’t the game’s best scorer. That honor went to his backcourt mate, Goran Dragic, who snapped out of a mini-funk to delivered two of his best games of the season, as ESPN’s Mark Jones observed:

@Goran_Dragic ????????????3. This is the same guy who couldn’t get out of his own way early in Charlotte series. Miami’s best player 2 straight games

— MarkJonesESPN (@MarkJonesESPN) May 4, 2016

Dragic opened Miami’s first-round series with a 2-of-8 dud and struggled to regain his rhythm. His defense had cracks he couldn’t cover, and his offense through six games was mostly quiet and inefficient.

But he broke through with a 25-point gem in Sunday’s Game 7 win over the Charlotte Hornets and proved Tuesday that his fiery offense made the long trip up from South Beach. He matched a season-high with 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting, confirming whatever playoff jitters he may have encountered have been properly disposed of.

“We are at our best when he’s aggressive and making plays for us,” Spoelstra said, per Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post.

Dragic also had a hand in making Tuesday another miserable …

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