MIAMI -- If this were a diving or gymnastics competition, the judges would have put up high marks for the Miami Heat.

Even the East German judge might have put up a 10.

The Heat made some difficult shots in the fourth quarter on Wednesday night, rallying to defeat the Charlotte Hornets 108-101 at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Dion Waiters scored 24 points and Goran Dragic added 22 points and 10 assists to lead Miami (31-34) to its 20th win in its past 24 games.

Miami made 17-of-41 3-pointers overall (41.5 percent) and 6-of-12 in the fourth quarter when it outscored Charlotte 27-15.

"Look at the shots they made," Hornets coach Steve Clifford said of the Heat. "James Johnson made a step-back three. Waiters made three contested 3-pointers, including the last one, which was partially blocked.

"Our defense in the fourth quarter was actually pretty good."

Not good enough as Dragic produced his fifth double-double this season and Miami won its third straight game, including two straight over the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers.

Waiters made five 3-pointers for the second game in a row. As a team, Miami made 17-of-41 on 3-pointers (41.5 percent).

"My teammates did an amazing job of knocking down shots," Dragic said when asked about his 10 assists.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Miami shot the 3-ball well despite having some spacing issues. But even when things weren't perfect, Waiters was there to save the Heat.

"We're cleaning it up," he said. "We're getting better. But we can still get to another level.

"Charlotte is about as mentally tough as any team in this league. They are so well-drilled defensively that you need guys who can create something out of nothing. Goran has that ability, but Dion, against teams that step up their defense, can create off the dribble."

Waiters' confidence never wavers, Spoelstra said.

"No matter what his (shooting) percentage may be in a game or for the season, he will think that it's 60 percent," Spoelstra said. "That's more than half the battle in this league -- your confidence and your ability to make plays over the top."

Kemba Walker led Charlotte (28-36) with 33 points. However, Walker missed a layup with 20 seconds left and had a turnover 10 seconds later to doom the Hornets.

Marvin Williams added a double-double -- 14 points and 12 rebounds -- for Charlotte.

Both teams survived injury scares. Dragic got accidentally poked in his right eye by Walker in the first quarter but quickly returned to the game. Charlotte's Nicolas Batum sprained his left ankle in the third quarter but also returned.

"With the win, the Heat has nearly completed a miraculous climb from a horrid 11-30 start to the season. The Heat is now just a half-game behind the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls, who hold the No. 7 and No. 8 playoff positions in the Eastern Conference.'

"We put ourselves in a jam, and we're getting out of it," said James Johnson, who scored 10 points in his first game back from an elbow injury. "All these games since the All-Star break feel like playoff games."

There were 11 lead changes and eight tie scores in the game. Miami's worst shooting quarter of the game was the first, when the Heat converted on only 30.0 percent.

Charlotte led by as many as seven points early and settled for a 22-18 lead heading into the second quarter. Miami took the lead after a 17-2 second-quarter run. Charlotte closed the quarter on a 20-9 stretch, and the score was tied 54-54 at halftime.

Walker, held scoreless in the first quarter, had 17 points at the half. He made 6-of-7 field goals in the second quarter, including 2-of-3 on three-pointers.

Charlotte closed the third quarter on a 10-2 run to take an 86-81 lead into the fourth. But then Waiters and his teammates got hot at just the right time, sinking the Hornets.

"They're playing well right now," Walker said of the Heat. "We made some mistakes defensively, and they took advantage."

NOTES: Heat F Luke Babbitt (back spasms) scored 12 points after getting hurt in Monday's win at the Cleveland Cavaliers. ... Heat G Tyler Johnson (sore neck, shoulders) scored six points after missing Monday's game. ... Charlotte has three players on its injury list: C Miles Plumlee (calf), F Frank Kaminsky (shoulder) and G Ramon Sessions (knee). ... Hornets G Kemba Walker is the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week. He averaged 27.7 points, 6.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds in three games last week. ... For Miami, this marked the start of a stretch of eight games in which seven will be played on their home court.