MIAMI — The consistency of Norman Powell was missing, with the Miami Heat scoring leader again sidelined by a groin issue.

But Tyler Herro was there to step in, with his own steadying presence, in this case a run of nine consecutive made shots . . . and later the winning basket.

No, this 106-102 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on the second night of a back-to-back set hardly was pretty, nothing close to the relentless offense that largely has built what now is a 12-6 record.

But with Herro arriving in time to lift the offense and second-year big man Kel’el Ware continuing his mastery in the middle, the Heat had enough to extend the season-best winning streak to five at the start of a four-game homestand.

“I thought this was a really good game for us to go through,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I thought this was a good game for us to have to win it defensively.”

Herro closed with 24 points on 12-of-18 shooting.

“They’ve been having a lot of fun,” Herro said, “and just to be able to go out there and compete with them was fun.”

Herro’s 10-foot floater with 42.1 seconds broke a tie and put the Heat ahead for good.

“It’s amazing that he can come back and have that kind of rhythm,” Spoelstra said.

And when it came to the dirty work, there were 20 points and 18 rebounds from Ware.

“The way he’s rebounding right now, it’s earning more playing time,” Spoelstra said.

Factor in 17 points from Bam Adebayo, including two late free throws to seal it, and the Heat were able to win in the injury absences of Powell, Andrew Wiggins and Nikola Jovic.

“We’re going to always hang our hat on making stops,” Adebayo said of winning with defense.

Five Degrees of Heat from Monday night’s  game:

1. Game flow: The Heat led 20-19 at the end of the first period, with the Heat .308 from the field in the quarter and the Mavericks at .316. The Heat then pushed to a 52-44 halftime lead.

From there, the Heat moved ahead by 13 in the third period, before going into the fourth up 80-72.

Dallas trimmed the deficit to three early in the fourth quarter on a pair of Klay Thompson 3-pointers and the Heat lead later was down to 91-89 with 6:46 remaining when Herro returned.

It then was tied 96-96 with 4:33 to play.

From there, the Heat went up 100-96, with the offense then stalling, a pair of Cooper Flagg free throws tying it 102-102 with 65 seconds to play.

Each team then had empty possession before Herro converted his 10-footer with 42.1 seconds to play for a 104-102 Heat lead.

“I happened to be in the right position and I was able to get to my spot and make a floater,” Herro said.

A pair of missed Mavericks attempts later, with Adebayo’s two free throws closing the scoring.

“We just weathered the storm,” forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. said. “I think that’s a sign of a team continuing to grow.”

2. Herro’s return: Herro went 7:45 in his opening stint, missing all three of his shots, but grabbing four rebounds and coming up with two steals.

The seventh-year guard then fell to 0 for 4 before his first points of the season came on a driving floater with 4:48 left in the second period, the first of three consecutive conversions.

“Once I saw one go through, it was just a matter of time,” Herro said.

That first basket began a run of nine consecutive conversions by Herro, before a miss on his first attempt of the fourth quarter.

All of that in his first game back from September ankle surgery.

“It was just excited to have him back,” Spoelstra said. “He’s going to fit right in.”

“I still got a long way to go,” said Herro, who noted his recovery is ongoing.

3. Ware’s way: Ware again provided a spark, already having a double-double by halftime, with 15 points and 10 rebounds at that stage.

With his overall effort, Ware extended his career-best streak of games with double-digit rebounds to nine and has now grabbed multiple offensive rebounds in a career-best 11 consecutive games.

“The ball finds energy,” Ware said of a team maxim and his recent efforts.

“We just really appreciate how Kel’el walks into the building every day,” Spoelstra said. “He takes the coaching, good or bad. He wants to be better for this team.”

4. The three thing: At halftime, the Heat were 2 of 17 on 3-pointers, with both by Ware, his second consecutive game with multiple 3-pointers and the fifth time he has done so this season.

It wasn’t until 9:04 remained in the third period that a Heat player other than Ware converted a 3-pointer, with Pelle Larsson converting from beyond the arc after the Heat had fallen to 2 of 18.

The Heat then went into the fourth quarter 4 of 23 on 3-pointers, with Ware 3 of 5 from beyond the arc at that stage.

The Heat closed 5 of 27 on 3-pointers, the non-Ware 3-pointers coming from Larsson and Keshad Johnson.

“You just don’t get lot of wide open looks,” Spoelstra said of Mavericks coach Jason Kidd prioritizing dissuading opposing 3-pointers. “And third game in four nights, you don’t have great legs in this one.”

5. Still attacking: Jaquez again thrived in his role as sixth man, up to eight points on 4-of-5 shooting at halftime, his lone miss coming on a 3-pointer desperation attempt at the end of the shot clock.

Jacquez closed with 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Jaquez’s effort helped offset the ongoing struggles of reserve forward Simone Fontecchio, who shot 2 for 10, including 0 for 7 on 3-pointers.

To Jaquez what mattered most was Herro back and back to being a difference-maker.

“Happy to see him have a night like that,” Jaquez said, “and fit right back in.”