On Tuesday night, the playoff-hopeful Miami Heat received a huge shot from Hassan Whiteside to defeat the Detroit Pistons. The Heat took the win 97-96 on the road to maintain their slim hold on the No. 8 playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Goran Dragic also came up big to aid in the latest win for his team. Here's a look at how Whiteside and Miami were able to come away with the big victory on Tuesday night in Detroit.

Heat vs. Pistons recap

Whiteside played the role of hero on Tuesday night for the Miami Heat. His 17 points helped, but none were bigger than his final shot, a buzzer-beater to give Miami the 97-96 win.

The shot was a tip-in by the big man just as the final horn sounded, sending he and his teammates into full celebration mode. Whiteside also had nine rebounds in the win along with an assist and a block.

Goran Dragic led all Heat players with 28 points on 9-for-16 shooting. He dished out four assists and snatched four rebounds as well. Miami shot over 45 percent for the game and still managed to get the W despite being out-rebounded 51 to 44 by their opponents.

While the Pistons had a four-point lead with 30 seconds remaining, Dragic was able to hit a free throw and then moments later a jumper to cut the lead to one.

The rest was history in the final seconds as Whiteside ultimately got the final tip-in. After a review, the Miami Heat victory was made official.

For the losing side, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led all Pistons with 25 points. Ish Smith added 19 points, as did Tobias Harris coming off the bench. Big man Andre Drummond managed to score just nine points but snatched a game-high 13 rebounds in the losing effort.

NBA standings & what's next

The Miami Heat are now 36-38 after their last-second win on Tuesday night. In the East standings, they are clinging to the final playoff spot by about one game over the next-nearest team, the Chicago Bulls (35-39). Next up for Miami is a Wednesday night road game at the New York Knicks starting at 7:30 p.m.

Eastern Time.

As for the Detroit Pistons, the loss drops them to 34-41 overall. They still trail Miami by about 2.5 games for that final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Luckily, their next game is against the league's worst team this season, the Brooklyn Nets. Detroit gets that game at home on Wednesday starting at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
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