Toronto's Serge Ibaka and Miami's James Johnson were ejected after trading punches in a heated NBA clash on Tuesday when the Raptors' home court winning streak came to an end.
The Heat stopped Toronto's 12-game unbeaten run in the Canadian city with a 90-89 victory, secured with less than a second remaining after Wayne Ellington converted a go-ahead driving layup.
The skirmish between Ibaka and Johnson began when the two started shoving one another while waiting for the ball to be inbounded under the Miami basket.
Officials reviewed the incident before giving both players technical fouls and ejections.
"It certainly felt like there was something at stake from the very tip, and that's the way it should be in this league," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "There was a physicality, an edge to the game."
Tempers flared again after the final whistle, with DeMar DeRozan appearing to yell at Goran Dragic as the teams left the court.
"Nothing special," Dragic said. "Just exchanged some words. No big deal."
Ellington leads Miami in three-pointers, which made the match-winning basket a bit of a surprise.
"That's probably the last thing anybody would think that he would do is put the ball on the floor," Spoelstra said. "I think it caught everybody by surprise, including me."
It was the only basket of the second half for Ellington, who finished with 15 points.
Ellington said he considered shooting after catching the inbounds pass from Dragic, but decided to drive along the baseline past Toronto's Pascal Siakam before laying the ball in off the glass.
Dragic had 24 points and matched his career high with 12 rebounds as Miami extended their season-best winning streak to five.
DeRozan scored 25 points as the Raptors lost for the first time in six games and failed to break the franchise record for consecutive home victories.
It was Toronto's first home loss since November 5 against Washington. The Raptors are 14-2 at home.
Meanwhile, CJ McCollum scored 15 of his 27 points in the third quarter as visiting Portland scored a 117-106 victory over Oklahoma City.
Dirk Nowitzki turned back the clock and matched his season high of 20 points to help Dallas hammer visiting Orlando 114-99.
Julius Randle had 22 points and 14 rebounds in the Los Angeles Lakers' 99-86 win over Sacramento.
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