Wayne Ellington's driving layup with just 0.3 seconds remaining sealed a fifth consecutive win for the Miami Heat as they added the red-hot Toronto Raptors to their list of recent scalps.

The 90-89 victory also snapped a 12-game home winning streak for the Raptors as the Heat produced a statement against the in-form team in the Eastern Conference.

Miami has been slowly climbing up the east and flying under the radar but it's now time to take the men from South Beach seriously.

They are one of the few teams in the NBA that don't have an All-Star but they're once again showing that they can compete without the need for a big name.

Collective

The Heat may not possess a bonafide star but they have a collection of good players who pride themselves on playing hard every night and leaving everything on the floor.

On paper, there are a number of teams who are more talented than the Florida-based franchise but there are few that can match them for effort.

“They are always prepared, they always play the right way and they are always defensively disciplined,” Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers said, per Yahoo Sports. “They are really tough.”

They have put together a group largely made up of cast-offs from other teams, former D-League players or youngsters they've drafted in recent years.

Normally, that sort of mix sounds like a disaster, but in Miami, it's working like a treat. Their win over Toronto last night moved them to fourth in the East with a 23-17 record.

They have remained in playoff contention and maintained a winning record even when they've had their best player Hassan Whiteside out and with the continued absence of starting shooting guard Dion Waiters.

The injuries to those two has allowed others to step up and take extra responsibility as the likes of Josh Richardson, Kelly Olynyk and Wayne Ellington have flourished.

Even with Whiteside returning to the fold recently, head coach Erik Spoelstra has often left him on the bench to close out games as he puts his trust in Olynyk to play at center because it allows them to play a more free-flowing style.

It's certainly frustrating for the big man but he understands the bigger picture and is not willing to hurt the team's chemistry with his ego.

"It's tough, but I don't want to get caught up in it. We're winning," Whiteside said, per ESPN.

It may be a non-traditional way of building a contending team, but it's certainly working for the Heat and there aren't many opponents who'd want to see them in the first round of the playoffs.

“People say the last two years the way we have done it is non-traditional or unconventional,” Spoelstra told Yahoo Sports. “I would say it is more by whatever means necessary is the way Coach Riley looks at it.

"Because for 23 years he has built championship-contending teams in different ways. Through the draft, through free agency through trade and then this summer, bringing a team back that we felt that we could build with and grow, from a group largely overlooked or outcasts.”

They may not be pretty on the eye or the most fun team to watch on a nightly basis but they get wins and that's all that matters in this league.

Spoelstra has found a way for them to be successful and it's time for their rivals to take notice of them as they're only going to get better.