The Miami Heat team the Raptors are meeting in the second round of the NBA playoffs isn’t the same one Toronto beat on three of four occasions in the regular season.

In a game that took a buzzer-beating half-court shot from Kyle Lowry to force overtime, the Heat proved it is going to be tough to contend with.

But there was one player in particular who has elevated the Heat team.

Goran Dragic, the Heat’s starting point guard, is playing the best basketball of his career. He poured in a game-high 26 points in Miami’s win.

“We are at our best when he’s aggressive and making plays for us.” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “What I love about Goran (Dragic) is that he’s always focused on doing his job regardless of circumstance. He doesn’t get caught up in the wild up and downs of the playoffs.

Miami was plus-15 in the game with Dragic on the floor.

“I’m getting my shots that I want,” he said, joking that his improved play has been because of Luol Deng’s special pre-game sandwiches.

He also held Raptors guards Kyle Lowry to and Cory Joseph to a combined 17 points on 8-for-22 shooting (36%).

After starting 1-for-8, Dragic finished the game with 9-for-12 shooting.

“I kind of switched the switch,” he said.

His teammates aren’t surprised by his recent play, which has included back-to-back performances with more than 25 points.

“He played big, thank God he knocked down those shots, he made some great shots,” Hassan Whiteside said.

“He’s always the same guy,” Luol Deng said. “He’s always going to give teams trouble with his penetration and it’s huge for us because when he plays like that it opens up something for somebody else. They’re going to talk about what they can do to stop him.”

There was another familiar face helping to lead the charge too.

Joe Johnson, who posted his season-high 28 points against the Raptors on March 3, averaged 21.9 points per game against Toronto in the Brooklyn Nets’ first-round win in 2014. In game Game 7 of that series Johnson netted 26 points. On Jan. 1 of this year, he poured in another 22 points, seven assists and five rebounds on 9-of-12 shooting against the Raptors.

Now with the Heat, Johnson has added a veteran offensive presence.

In overtime, to open the scoring, he scored the opening basket.

His 16 points and seven rebounds in Miami’s Game 1 win were both playoff highs through eight games.

The win was Miami’s third in a row (two of which were on the road) after they came back from down 3-2 to be the Charlotte Hornets in seven games in the first round.

But it was Dragic who changed the game.

“When it’s hard to penetrate he just kicks it back out and he realized that early,” Deng said.