MIAMI -- When no one watches but teammates and coaches, Josh Richardson has shown he has the offensive game to play a pivotal role in the Miami Heat's fortunes.

Richardson has struggled with his shot, but on Friday night he showed why the Heat signed the third-year guard to a multiyear extension before the season.

Richardson scored a career-high 27 points to lead the Heat to a 105-100 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

"I've been working on my game a lot," Richardson said. "I'm knocking it down in practice every day. It hasn't translated. I've just stayed with it. It's supposed to change eventually."

Through Miami's first 21 games, Richardson averaged 8.8 points and shot 36 percent from the field and 26 percent on 3-pointers. Richardson shook off the early season shooting struggles against the Hornets, making 11 of 14 from the field and 3 of 4 3-pointers.

"This is the player who looked like this coming out of training camp and after the preseason," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, "but you do have to credit J-Rich for his character, his competitiveness. Even while he's been struggling from the field, he's been an All-NBA defender and you can ask anyone that we've played."

Dion Waiters finished with 19 points and Wayne Ellington scored 14 points as the Heat overcame a 15-point first-quarter deficit.

Miami took the lead for good and secured the victory with nine straight points late in the fourth quarter. Goran Dragic's short jumper with 2:23 remaining in the quarter began the surge, putting the Heat ahead 97-96.

Richardson's jumper with 46 seconds left capped the run and gave Miami (11-11) a 104-96 lead.

"Sometimes you have to scratch and survive, sometimes it is not going to always be pretty," Waiters said. "We had to do a great job grinding back."

Tyler Johnson and Kelly Olynyk were Miami's other double-figure scorers with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Justise Winslow finished with a game-high 11 rebounds

Heat center Hassan Whiteside missed his second straight game. He is expected to be sidelined indefinitely because of a bone bruise in his left knee that forced him to sit out five consecutive games earlier in the season.

Marvin Williams scored 16 points and Nicolas Batum finished with 13 for the Hornets (8-13), who lost their fourth straight.

Five other Hornets finished in double figures. Michael Carter-Williams, Cody Zeller and Frank Kaminsky each scored 12 points. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Dwight Howard had 10 points each.

Both teams shot 48 percent from the field, but Miami outscored Charlotte 14-5 on 3-pointers.

"I thought our energy was good the whole game," Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. "I was pleased with that. When the other team makes nine more 3s, it's going to be very hard to win."

The Hornets played their second consecutive game without leading scorer Kemba Walker, who is sidelined because of a bruised left shoulder.

Charlotte opened the game on a 16-1 run keyed by Howard's six points and five from Carter-Williams. Miami missed its first 12 shots before Richardson's layup with 5:45 remaining in the first quarter ended the scoring drought.

Ellington hit four 3-pointers during a 5:34 span late in the first quarter and early in the second quarter to help the Heat erase the early deficit. Richardson's steal and layup with 2:43 remaining in the second quarter gave Miami its first lead.

"It was a hard-fought game," Zeller said. "I thought the ball was moving, especially in the second half. We just didn't make enough plays down the stretch."

NOTES: Rookie C Bam Adebayo replaced injured C Hassan Whiteside and scored one point and finished with five rebounds. Adebayo started the last three games of Whiteside's five-game absence between Oct. 21 and Oct. 30 and averaged seven points and seven rebounds in the three-game stretch. ... G Goran Dragic scored seven points. Dragic has not scored in double figures in three consecutive games. ... After three of four games on the road, the Hornets return to the Spectrum Center to face Orlando on Monday night for the first of four consecutive home games. The Hornets won three straight in their previous extended homestand. ... The Hornets are 1-11 on the road and have lost eight straight away from home. Charlotte's last road victory was Oct. 30 at Memphis.