MIAMI -- The Toronto Raptors seemed headed to another double-figure visiting loss against the Miami Heat until DeMar DeRozan had other ideas.

De Rozan scored 40 points, and the Raptors rallied from an early 15-point deficit to defeat the Heat 101-84 Thursday night.

DeRozan shot 14 of 25 from the field and made 12 of 13 free throws as Toronto won its fourth straight. In one first-quarter stretch, DeRozan scored 14 consecutive points for a Raptors lineup still without starting point guard Kyle Lowry, who remains sidelined because of an injury to his right wrist.

"I was just trying to be aggressive and try to pick it up on the defensive end as well -- not just trying to go up there scoring," DeRozan said. "We slowly started getting into it and started playing like we wanted to play".

For the first time in his career, DeRozan scored 40 points or better in consecutive games following his 42-point outing Tuesday against the Chicago Bulls.

"I don't think about scoring a certain amount of points or nothing like that," DeRozan said. "I just go out there and let my game speak for itself -- take what they give me."

The comeback victory helped the Raptors erase the frustrations of their previous trip to Miami on March 11, when the Heat won 104-89.

"I thought our smaller lineup was more aggressive, once we started getting the 50-50 balls," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said of his team's comeback. "I thought they were beating us to all of them early. Our defense got us back in the game picking up a little more full court."

"The Raptors (43-29) took the lead for good after a 20-4 run during a 6:01 stretch between the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth period. Norman Powell's two free throws with 10:42 remaining in the fourth quarter gave the Raptors their first double-digit lead at 79-68.

Powell finished with 14 points and Delon Wright scored 13 points for the Raptors, who have won 19 games after trailing by double-figures. In Tuesday's win over Chicago, Toronto rallied from an 18-point deficit to win in overtime.

"We have to start games better," DeRozan said. "We have to be able to jump on teams and sustain a lead for a whole game with our defense and let our offense carry us secondly."

Hassan Whiteside scored 16 points and finished with 14 rebounds for the Heat. Miami (35-37) failed in its second attempt at reaching .500 after starting the season at 11-30.

In a 115-104 loss home loss against Portland Sunday night that prevented the Heat from reaching .500, another opponent's performance exceeding 40 points victimized Miami as Damian Lillard scored 49 points.

Whiteside played despite sustaining a deep cut to the middle finger of his right hand in Tuesday's game against Phoenix. Whiteside wore protective padding over the cut that required 13 stitches.

"It was tough, it hurt but nobody is going to feel sorry for me," Whiteside said. "I came out here and just tried my best."

The Raptors also were without forward Serge Ibaka, who served a league-mandated one-game suspension after his altercation with Chicago's Robin Lopez in Toronto's game against the Chicago Bulls Tuesday night.

Tyler Johnson's 3-point play with 1:26 remaining in the first period gave the Heat a 33-18 lead. However, Miami struggled from the field the next two periods, scoring a combined 35 points.

"Boy, they really picked up their pressure," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It's pretty clear to see that they had us out of our normal rhythm offensively due to their pressure. We didn't really handle it well but they really got up into us."

NOTES: The NBA fined Toronto assistant coach Jamaal Magloire $15,000 for pushing Chicago forward Nikola Mirotic during the Serge Ibaka-Robin Lopez incident. ... Toronto F P.J. Tucker started in Ibaka's absence and scored nine points. For Tucker, the start was his second since he was acquired in a trade from the Phoenix Suns on Feb. 23. ... C Hassan Whiteside, who set the Heat single-season rebound record Tuesday, extended his franchise-record double-double streak to 14 consecutive games. Whiteside also established the mark in Tuesday's win over Phoenix. ... The Heat will begin a three-game road trip Sunday at Boston. The road stretch also features stops at Detroit and New York on Tuesday and Wednesday. ... Toronto plays at Dallas on Saturday.