CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Hassan Whiteside was in the game all of 35 seconds when he recorded not one, but two blocks and a rebound.

It was right about then that the Miami Heat center might have realized he was onto something special -- as in, triple-double special. All he knew was that "the coaches on the other sideline are telling the players, 'Hey man, stay away from this guy.'"

By the time his Miami Heat toppled the Charlotte Hornets 98-95 -- thanks to a driving layup from forward Chris Bosh with 23.5 seconds remaining -- Whiteside tallied 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks.

It was the fourth time in the last three seasons that Whiteside has accomplished that feat with the unusual category of blocks instead of assists. And that's something Whiteside is proud of.

"I'm different," he said. "Simple as that."

Whiteside's dominating performance came in his second game back after missing six because of an oblique injury, it came while coming off the bench for only the third time this season, and came while playing in front of his family and friends from his hometown of nearby Gastonia, N.C.

"I was at the YMCA around the corner two years ago," said Whiteside. "So, now I'm here. Bench or not."

Whiteside had seven points, four blocks and four rebounds in the fourth quarter, when Miami needed him most to help outscore the Hornets 31-22 in the final period.

Whiteside's final block also came with a rebound as he caught his own rejection of a Marvin Williams' layup attempt with 3:17 remaining.

Said Hornets center Cody Zeller: "He's the best shot-blocker in the league."

And although the Heat needed Bosh's layup and ensuing free throw when he was fouled to counter seven points from Williams (27 points, 12-of-17) in the final three minutes, it was Whiteside who impacted the game most, according to the Hornets.

"Whiteside just dominated every aspect of the game," Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. "Right now he's the premiere rim protector in this league. ... It changed the game when he came in, and they were a totally different team when he was out there."

Still, Charlotte played a back-and-forth battle with the Heat, led by a season-high in points from Williams. Guard Nicolas Batum added 21 points and seven assists, and guard Kemba Walker had 20 points and six assists.

Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 22 points on 11-of-20 shooting, and Bosh finished with 20 points while hitting 9-of-20 field goals. Point guard Goran Dragic added 12 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.

The Hornets (24-26) led 31-25 after one quarter thanks to balanced play that included nine points from Williams and eight points from Batum.

The second quarter brought the re-emergence of Wade, who was held scoreless in the first. He knocked in 12 points over a six-minute spurt that closed the half. His one-handed, breakaway dunk over forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist gave the Heat a 44-43 lead with 1:09 left before the break.

In the third quarter, Walker left his mark, scoring 10 of Charlotte's 12 points in a streak that lifted the Hornets to a 73-65 advantage with 2:23 remaining in the period.

The Heat was playing the final road game in a stretch of 14 of 16 away from Miami. The Heat went 8-8 in that stretch.

"It was something that we wanted to collectively do, get the last game and get a win that would put us at .500 on the road," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

NOTES: The Hornets honored former player Alonzo Mourning for his achievements during his Charlotte career in a halftime ceremony. Mourning spent three seasons in Charlotte, 1992-95, and remains the Hornets' all-time leader in blocks (684) and blocks per game (3.2). He currently is the vice president of player programs for the Miami Heat. "I'm very thankful I started my career here," Mourning said. "I owe a lot to the City of Charlotte in helping me have the career I did have." ... Hornets PG Kemba Walker had his left knee drained Wednesday and missed Charlotte's game against Cleveland that night. It was the first game Walker missed this season. He was back in the starting lineup Friday. ... Miami started C Amar'e Stoudemire for the second straight game, despite typical starter Hassan Whiteside returning from injury Wednesday. Whiteside missed six games with a strained left oblique muscle. ... Heat PG Goran Dragic missed the shootaround Friday with an illness, but was in the starting lineup. ... Hornets coach Steve Clifford earned his 100th victory with Charlotte on Wednesday. He is the first Hornets coach to reach 100 wins with the franchise since Paul Silas did so in 2001. Clifford said he wasn't aware he was close to the achievement. "I'm not aware of a lot of things," he quipped.