MIAMI -- In a performance filled with mind-twisting numbers for Hassan Whiteside, none stood out more on Sunday than two that most defined his impact.

The first: Five feet.

The second: Eleven minutes and 31 seconds.

That first number represents the additional distance and ground Whiteside was asked to cover in stepping out toward the perimeter against pick-and-roll sets -- an effort to eliminate airspace for shooters and avoid being a defensive liability for the Miami Heat.

The second number is the playing time Whiteside got in the fourth quarter alone as a residual reward for carrying out that assignment to near perfection in the Heat's 116-109 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Miami shook off a sluggish start and perimeter defensive lapses to get a much-harder-than-it-should-have-been win to improve to 16-10 after recovering from Friday's frustrating loss to Toronto.

But among other things, Sunday's biggest accomplishment was proving that Whiteside and fourth quarters don't necessarily have to be mutually exclusive elements in a successful formula for the Heat. In most games this season, Whiteside has played sparingly or not at all in the fourth quarter. Those omission decisions have been the most polarizing aspect of Miami's uneven season so far.

"It was a great feeling," Whiteside said. "Just being able to contribute in the fourth quarter and getting to finish the game with my teammates.

"I didn't realize how long I played until I looked at the monitor."

Whiteside made the most of his rare closing opportunities by dominating on both ends of the court:

Offensively, he created a big target in the lane, caught the ball and finished at the rim to score 11 of his 22 points in the fourth. Defensively, he used his length and athleticism to snag rebounds no one else in a Heat jersey would pursue in collecting six of his 11 boards in the period. He made both free throws in the one spot with two minutes left when Portland coach Terry Stotts employed the Hack-a-Hassan.

In other words, Whiteside gave Heat coach Erik Spoelstra essentially no reason to sit him.

Hassan Whiteside may have discovered the key to staying in the game late. Issac Baldizon/NBAE/Getty Images

There have been a handful of games this season when Whiteside has posted numbers as impressive as Sunday's 10-of-13 shooting for 22 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks in 38 minutes. And many of those previous breakout games still concluded with the 7-footer slumping his massive shoulders and trudging to the bench at the end of the third quarter or early in the fourth to never see additional action. Typically, it was because of matchup problems when opponents went small. A week ago in Atlanta, Heat guard Dwyane Wade said it was simply a Golden State-inspired, NBA-wide attempt to "extinct the [centers]."

But it was different on Sunday. Usually, the Heat blink. This time, they stayed big and didn't budge.

It was different because Spoelstra chose to play to his team's strength -- and stuck with it -- to see Whiteside and Chris Bosh dismantle the Blazers' smaller frontcourt. Whiteside's closing punch was set up by Bosh's flurry late in the third and early in the fourth, when Bosh regrouped from five first-half turnovers and ultimately contributed 29 points, six rebounds and four assists.

It was also different because Whiteside showed defensive mobility that led to hard shows as Damian Lillard or C.J. McCollum stepped around screens in anticipation of open shots. Spoelstra insisted Whiteside's late-game call came because of his improved focus on the intricate details of the defense.

"That's why I played him the entire second half," Spoelstra said of Whiteside logging all but 29 seconds after Miami trailed 62-52 at the break. "He was making so many plays, a lot of them you saw -- the blocks, rebounds. But [it's also] a lot you wouldn't see -- pick-and-roll coverages against dynamic 3-point shooters. He was covering a lot of ground, arguably as much as he's [ever] covered defensively."

Was it some sort of epiphany from Whiteside? Did a light just all of a sudden come on after 25 games that made him a viable option to use in the fourth quarter?

Perhaps.

But this is also the result of Spoelstra acquiescing a bit and going away from what's been his comfort zone. His best coaching came three years ago, when after losing in the Finals to Dallas in the first year of the Heat's Big Three era, Spoelstra worked relentlessly to use smaller lineups and create pace and space to unclog an offense dominated by LeBron James, Wade and Bosh.

Spoelstra would never admit it, but he would be far more comfortable with a starting frontcourt that included Whiteside or Bosh -- but not both. He gets around that dilemma by starting both, then quickly replacing Bosh midway through the first quarter and allowing Whiteside to play as the lone big. Then Miami gets to its best and most efficient lineups only after essentially alternating Whiteside and Bosh.

"It's a difference of five feet. For him, that makes the biggest difference in the world. For us defensively, it allows us to be able to cover so much more ground and have each other's back."

The Heat start the first and third quarters with the two, but rarely -- if ever -- finish games that way. But Sunday's game was an example of Spoelstra giving and Whiteside growing. Maybe it's sheer coincidence that Whiteside got extended late-game run just days after Heat president Pat Riley publicly offered a strong denial that Miami was actively seeking trade proposals for the looming free-agent center who leads the league in blocked shots and ranks among the leaders in field goal percentage and rebounds.

And it was just a few weeks ago when Whiteside, out of frustration from being removed in the fourth quarter of a string of games during a losing streak, used his social media account to post a photo of a caged lion, sans any caption. He didn't need one. The post, which was later taken down, spoke volumes.

Then the Heat countered a three-game losing streak by winning three in a row. Still, Whiteside's status and how he has handled rolling in and out of the rotation late in games has been a delicate issue for Miami. Wade said he is constantly in Whiteside's ear about professionalism and maturity.

"I communicate with Hassan a lot, whether it's on the court, off the court, on the bench, in the locker room; he's very important to this team," Wade said after a recent win in Atlanta. "He has to understand whatever minutes he's on the floor, he has to dominate those minutes. And the minutes he's not on the floor, cheer for his teammates and hope they can get the job done. If that's not happening, then it becomes a divide in the locker room. And when you're a team that's trying to figure it out, you have to be as close as possible. You can't have a divide because someone feels they should be on the floor."

Whiteside remained on the floor Sunday mainly because he understood where he should be on the hardwood during a crucial time in the game. Bosh said the Heat spent the past few days in film sessions and workouts showing Whiteside how to defend on the perimeter and how to get back into the paint.

"It's a difference of five feet," Bosh said. "For him, that makes the biggest difference in the world. For us defensively, it allows us to be able to cover so much more ground and have each other's back."

And it made a major difference in Whiteside's playing time.

Before Sunday, he averaged just 4.8 minutes in the final quarter of games this season. Only Chris Andersen and Amar'e Stoudemire averaged less time -- and it's mostly because they're often in street clothes on the inactive list. Through 26 games, Whiteside has sat out of six fourth quarters entirely.

Maybe that will change now. It will depend on matchups and Whiteside's level of focus.

But his ability to defend those additional five feet away from the lane allowed Whiteside to make a major leap in Spoelstra's closing rotation. The Heat will make strides in their quest for consistency if both men are willing to keep taking a step or two outside of their comfort zones.