MIAMI -- The Miami Heat needed every available player to contribute if they were to keep their fading playoff hopes alive.

Goran Dragic led a balanced effort with 28 points and five assists as the Heat defeated the Charlotte Hornets 105-100 in a pivotal game in the race for one of the Eastern Conference's final playoff berths.

With Boston and Indiana idle, the Heat (35-43) moved into ninth place and within a half game of the Celtics for the final playoff spot. Miami moved a half-game ahead of the Pacers. The Heat also moved to one game and a half behind idle Brooklyn for the No. 7 seed with four games remaining.

The Heat have three more home games over the next week although its next two are against Chicago and Toronto – the No. 3 and 4 seeds in the Eastern Conference, respectively. Its final home game is against Orlando. The Heat finish the season on the road at Philadelphia.

The loss was damaging for the Hornets (33-44), who dropped to 11th place in the East, two games behind Boston and dropped to a game and a half behind Miami and one game behind Indiana.

The Hornets have five games remaining – four of which are against postseason-bound teams. Charlotte will face Toronto twice (home and away) as well as Atlanta, the top-seed in the East on the road and Houston at home. Their only game against a nonplayoff opponent is at Detroit.

Hornets guard Gerald Henderson led all scorers with 29 points. He cut the Heat lead to 103-100 with 7.5 seconds remaining, but Dragic sealed the game with a pair of free throws.

Heat guard Dwyane Wade scored 19 points as the Heat had four players finish in double figures scoring.

How the Heat's lineup would look was unclear heading into the game.

But both Luol Deng (knee injury) and center Hassan Whiteside (right finger laceration) started and were productive. Only forward Michael Beasley (knee) did not play.

Deng scored 10 points in the first quarter and finished with 21 points and six rebounds. Whiteside had 12 points and eight rebounds. Whiteside missed the team's previous game against the Pacers and wore a protective brace on his right hand.

The Heat used a 16-0 run midway through the third quarter to take the lead for good. The surge continued as Miami outscored Charlotte 21-2 by the time Deng hit a 3-pointer with 1:53 left in the third.

NOTES: The Hornets played without F Cody Zeller (shoulder soreness), C Al Jefferson (sore right knee) and F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (left ankle sprain). Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said that Jefferson needs rest, but that Kidd-Gilchrist and Zeller's injuries are significant. "For us, it hasn't been little nagging injuries that would have been preventable," Clifford said. "Mike has a severe ankle sprain. Cody has a problem with his shoulder that is related to his rotator cuff." ... Bismack Biyombo started again for the Hornets and along with forward Marvin Williams helped the depleted Hornets frontcourt hold its own with a combined 25 rebounds.