LOS ANGELES -- After leading by 25 points late in the third quarter, the Miami Heat avoided an embarrassing meltdown by holding off the Los Angeles Clippers.

Two free throws by forward James Johnson with 8.7 seconds remaining were the difference as the Heat earned a 104-101 victory over the Clippers on Sunday at Staples Center.

Hassan Whiteside scored 21 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to lead the Heat (4-5), who snapped a four-game losing streak to the Clippers.

"We were turning the ball over (and) they hit a couple of big threes," Whiteside said of the Clippers' rally. "They got the momentum. Momentum is a crazy thing."

Tyler Johnson scored 19 points and Wayne Ellington added 17 for the Heat, who had six players reach double figures. Josh Richardson and James Johnson chipped in 14 apiece. Goran Dragic finished with 12 points and six assists.

Blake Griffin led the Clippers with 23 points but missed a potential go-ahead shot near the end. Lou Williams had 22 off the bench. DeAndre Jordan scored 10 points and collected 19 rebounds for Los Angeles (5-4).

The Clippers, who were playing the second end of a back-to-back after a Saturday loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, have dropped four of their past five after starting the season 4-0.

However, they put a scare into the Heat, who dominated for three quarters.

"I give a lot of credit to the Clippers. They kept fighting, especially that unit they came in in the fourth quarter," said Johnson, who committed six of the Heat's 16 turnovers. "They brought a different pace and a different style, and we kind of relaxed. Those are the kind of moments that we don't need, and we're still working. It's still early, but the kind of character that we showed today by coming back and just being OK with the situation (helped us) get it done."

Griffin failed to convert a jumper with three seconds left before two free throws by Richardson with 0.9 seconds remaining capped it for Miami. The Clippers failed to get off another shot.

"I might have cried if (Griffin) had made that," said Whiteside, who also had three steals. "All of the things that happened, that happened through the flow of the game, them making the big run and him hitting the game-winner on me would have been (terrible)."

Griffin said it never should have come to that.

"We don't want to be in that position, but if we are, it's a shot I'm willing to take," said Griffin, who was 8 of 18 from the floor and 2 of 5 from behind the 3-point arc. "Unfortunately, it didn't go in tonight."

Los Angeles used a 29-4 run to tie the score at 93 after a three-point play by Jordan with 3:17 remaining. Two foul shots by Griffin gave the Clippers a 95-93 advantage 22 seconds later.

After the teams traded leads, two free throws by Dragic and a dunk by Whiteside lifted Miami to a 100-97 lead. Griffin made a pair of foul shots to cut the advantage to one with 43 seconds remaining before Wesley Johnson's dunk put Los Angeles up 101-100 with 26 seconds left.

A steal by Austin Rivers, who had 12 points, gave the Clippers a chance to extend the lead to three, but the guard missed two free throws with 17 seconds left.

The Heat prevailed despite playing without guard Dion Waiters, the team's third-leading scorer at 15.9 points per game. Waiters returned to Miami to be on hand for the birth of his daughter.

Clippers forward Danilo Gallinari hurt his hip and did not play in the second half. Gallinari, who scored six points, said he injured himself a week ago but continued to play.

"I can barely walk," he said. "I've been having pain the past two or three games, and now it's getting to a point where I'm having problems walking, so I've got to take care of it."

NOTES: Heat C Hassan Whiteside was on the winning side for only the second time in eight head-to-head meetings with Clippers C DeAndre Jordan. ... Clippers G Patrick Beverley played his 300th game. He finished with eight points and eight assists. ... Los Angeles recalled F Brice Johnson from the Agua Caliente Clippers. He did not play. ... The two clubs will meet again Jan. 8 in Miami. ... The Heat resume their six-game road trip Monday at the Golden State Warriors. ... The Clippers begin a three-game swing at San Antonio on Tuesday. Los Angeles will play eight of its nine contests on the road.