Phil Neville's Inter have now claimed eight points from their past four games, having been rooted to the bottom of the Eastern Conference after six defeats in a row.
Nashville had taken the lead early in the second half from Charles Sapong but Miami responded on the hour mark.
Ex-France international Blaise Matuidi played in former Real Madrid forward Higuain who calmly collected the ball and slotted home for 1-1.
Inter dramatically claimed all three points in the 95th minute when Gonzalo's brother Federico Higuain whipped in a well-weighted cross for Indiana Vassilev to head home.
The win moves Miami out of last spot in the east and up to 12th.
At the other end of the conference table, New England Revolution moved 10 points clear with a 2-1 home win over Philadelphia Union.
Matthew Polster and Gustavo Bou netted first-half goals, sandwiching Paxten Aaronson's strike to extend New England's unbeaten run to six games.
Bou's goal came after his 39th-minute penalty was saved by Union goalkeeper Andre Blake, only for the Argentine to convert the rebound.
New York Red Bulls are winless in six after going down 2-1 to lowly Chicago Fire following Serbian midfielder Luka Stojanovic's early double strike.
DC United came from behind to win 2-1 over Montreal, while San Jose Earthquakes beat LAFC 2-1 in the Western Conference.
LA Galaxy were held to a 1-1 home draw by Vancouver Whitecaps with Kevin Cabral's 32nd-minute goal cancelled out by Ranko Veselinovic's 50th-minute reply.
Higuain converted an 81st-minute free-kick and it proved to be the winner as Inter Miami defeated New York Red Bulls 2-1 on Wednesday.
The former Argentina international, who joined David Beckham's Inter Miami from Serie A champions Juventus, missed a penalty on debut last month.
In his third appearance for Inter Miami, Higuain earned a free-kick with nine minutes remaining and stepped up to beat Red Bulls goalkeeper David Jensen with a powerful shot into the top corner.
Higuain's first MLS goal came via a direct free-kick after not scoring a set-piece in 428 matches during his time in the top five European leagues, per Opta.
"That's my role," Higuain said in a post-match news conference. "I've been playing in the best leagues in the world and that's my main function, to score."
The Red Bulls had led through Omir Fernandez's 53rd-minute opener, before Matias Pellegrini equalised two minutes later in New Jersey.
Inter Miami are 12th in the 14-team Eastern Conference with 14 points from 16 games, while the Red Bulls are six points better off in seventh.
The visiting Timbers defeated the struggling Galaxy in a wild nine-goal showdown in Carson, California.
Portland led 2-1 at half-time before scoring another four goals in a thrilling encounter at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Felipe Mora and Jeremy Ebobisse each finished with braces as the Timbers scored a joint-club record six goals for the second time in four matches, having not scored more than five times in any of their first 337 MLS matches, via Opta.
The Galaxy have lost five matches in a row to sit bottom of the Western Conference, while the Timbers are second and three points adrift of leaders Seattle Sounders – who edged Real Salt Lake 2-1.
Elsewhere, New York City eased past DC United 4-1, Eastern Conference leaders Toronto downed New England Revolution 1-0 and Philadelphia Union were too good for FC Cincinnati 3-0.
Dallas lost 2-0 to Houston Dynamo, Sporting Kansas City were 1-0 winners over Chicago Fire, San Jose Earthquakes beat nine-man Vancouver Whitecaps 3-0, Montreal Impact topped Columbus Crew 2-1, while Atlanta United and Orlando City played out a goalless draw.
The Colorado Rapids-Los Angeles FC clash was postponed after one new confirmed case of coronavirus among the Rapids staff.
Coming off a defeat to Los Angeles FC, Inter Miami went down to DC United 2-1 on Saturday.
Rodolfo Pizarro scored the first MLS goal in the club's history, sweeping in a Lewis Morgan cross to give them the lead in just the second minute.
However, the game turned early in the second half when, after Morgan thought he had doubled his side's lead, the visitors had the goal ruled out and Roman Torres sent off for a handball.
DC equalised through Yamil Asad's penalty in the 59th minute before finding what proved to be the winner just after the hour-mark.
Edison Flores hit the post with a free-kick and Frederic Brillant reacted quickest to fire in the rebound and lift DC to their first win of the season.
LA Galaxy are without a win through two games after suffering a 1-0 loss at home to the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Tosaint Ricketts' smart side-footed finish in the 74th minute was enough for the Whitecaps.
Joe Corona was then sent off for Galaxy, who were beaten despite David Bingham later saving a Lucas Cavallini penalty.
Without the injured Josef Martinez, Atlanta United made it two wins from two by beating Cincinnati 2-1.
There are three teams with perfect records in the Western Conference in Sporting Kansas City, Minnesota United and the Colorado Rapids.
Sporting KC thrashed Houston Dynamo 4-0, Ike Opara netted a brace in Minnesota's 5-2 win over the San Jose Earthquakes and Colorado edged Orlando City 2-1 thanks to Drew Moor's late winner.
New England Revolution and Chicago Fire drew 1-1, Real Salt Lake came from behind to hold the New York Red Bulls to a 1-1 draw and Maximiliano Urruti's brace helped Montreal Impact draw 2-2 with Dallas.
Ifunanyachi Achara's goal on his MLS debut saw Toronto overcome New York City 1-0, while the Seattle Sounders drew 1-1 against Columbus Crew.
In their first season in MLS, Inter Miami reached the play-offs after a 2-1 win over FC Cincinnati on Decision Day.
Mikey Ambrose's 25-yard strike in the 19th minute gave Diego Alonso's side the lead before Leandro Gonzalez Pirez doubled the advantage with a header.
Joe Gyau's brilliant goal halved the deficit for Cincinnati in the 66th minute, but Inter Miami held on despite Andres Reyes' red card.
Philadelphia won the first trophy in their history, securing the Supporters' Shield thanks to a 2-0 win over New England Revolution.
Sergio Santos and Cory Burke scored either side of half-time for the Union, who finished three points clear of Toronto atop the Eastern Conference.
Philadelphia won all nine of their home matches during the 2020 MLS season, tied for the second-longest single-season home winning streak in league history.
Toronto were chasing Philadelphia but fell to a 2-1 loss to New York Red Bulls.
Montreal Impact also secured a play-off place thanks to a come-from-behind 3-2 win over DC United.
DC led twice as Donovan Pines and Ola Kamara had goals cancelled out by Bojan Krkic and Victor Wanyama respectively.
But Romell Quioto tapped in an 88th-minute winner for the Impact, who had Samuel Piette sent off in additional time.
New York City edged Chicago Fire 4-3 in a thriller, Columbus Crew overcame Atlanta United 2-1 and Nashville beat Orlando City 3-2.
Sporting Kansas City wrapped up the top seed in the Western Conference after a 2-0 win over Real Salt Lake.
It meant the Seattle Sounders' 4-1 victory against San Jose Earthquakes mattered little as they finished second.
Carlos Vela scored in Los Angeles FC's 1-1 draw with Portland Timbers, Minnesota United cruised past Dallas 3-0, Colorado Rapids beat Houston Dynamo 2-1 and Vancouver Whitecaps handed a 10-man LA Galaxy a 3-0 loss.
City defender Alexander Callens netted the game's only goal in the 29th minute, while goalkeeper Sean Johnson was outstanding for the visitors.
Callens powered in the winner with a bouncing header from Santiago Rodriguez's corner.
Minnesota almost equalised in the 90th minute but were thwarted by a spectacular double save by Johnson from Emanuel Reynoso and Robin Lod efforts.
City moved ahead of Philadelphia Union in the east, after they could only manage a 1-1 draw away to under-achieving New England Revolution.
The Revs, who won last season's Supporters' Shield, have rallied after a poor start to their campaign, going unbeaten in their past five, but have only collected 16 points from 13 games.
Gustavo Bou had put New England ahead from the penalty spot in the 75th minute, but Union levelled two minutes later after Omar Gonzalez's inexplicable error allowed Mikael Uhre to score.
Montreal, who are third in the east, got back on the winners' list with a hard-fought 4-3 victory over Cincinnati with a double from Rommel Quioto.
Luquinhas netted a brace as New York Red Bulls stayed in touch with the Eastern Conference's top three with a 4-1 home victory over struggling DC United.
In the Western Conference, LAFC remains four points clear at the top after Brian Rodriguez's 47th-minute winner clinched a 3-2 triumph over San Jose Earthquakes.
LAFC had raced to a 2-0 lead inside 13 minutes but San Jose equalised after two goals from in-form Jeremy Ebobisse, who has scored an equal-league high nine times this term.
Rodriguez, who got the assist for Ryan Hollingshead's 13th minute goal, scored when a loose ball arrived at his feet unmarked at the back post, firing past Earthquakes goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski.
Nashville ended the Colorado Rapids' remarkable 23-game unbeaten run at home with a 3-1 victory.
Charles Sapong netted in the eighth minute, before Hany Mukhtar's quickfire double had Nashville 3-0 up inside 18 minutes. The win moves Nashville up to fifth in the west.
Dallas came from behind to win 3-1 at Orlando City, Real Salt Lake won their third straight with a 3-0 victory over Houston Dynamo and Vancouver Whitecaps moved off bottom spot with a 1-0 triumph at Sporting KC.
Inter Miami extended their unbeaten run to four games with a 2-1 home win over Portland Timbers, Columbus Crew triumphed 2-1 over 10-man Atlanta United and Toronto won 3-2 over Chicago Fire after two late Pozuelo goals.
Former Manchester United winger Nani had set up Daryl Dike for a 26th-minute opener with a tackle-cum-pass before Silvester van der Water doubled Orlando's lead three minutes later with a cross which eluded everyone.
But the visitors rallied after the break with a double strike inside three minutes, firstly with Antonio Carlos' 52nd-minute own goal.
Minutes later Lucas Zelarayan picked out Derrick Etienne Jr who cushioned a pass into the box for Miguel Berry to equalize.
Orlando grabbed all three points with Dike laying back a pass for Junior Urso to lash home a 69th-minute winner from the edge of the box.
The result moves Orlando above Nashville into second spot in the east with 38 points from 22 games, having gone six games unbeaten in the MLS.
Inter Miami continued their excellent recent form after Brek Shea's 90th-minute winner earned them a 1-0 victory away to Cincinnati.
The result extends Phil Neville's side's unbeaten run to four games and means they have lost only once in their past nine, climbing up to 10th spot in the east.
Dominique Badji also netted a late winner, scoring in the 89th minute to lift the Colorado Rapids into second in the west with a 1-0 victory at San Jose Earthquakes.
Real Salt Lake came from a goal down early to win 3-2 over Dallas, while Vancouver Whitecaps scored twice in the final 20 minutes to beat struggling Austin 2-1.
LAFC crushed the Whitecaps 6-0 at Banc of California Stadium on Wednesday, thanks to five goals in the opening 33 minutes.
The five goals scored in 32 minutes, 13 seconds was the fastest a team has netted five from kick-off in MLS history, according to Opta.
The Seattle Sounders had set the previous record (32:43) just 13 days ago against the San Jose Earthquakes.
LAFC went ahead in the second minute through Dejan Jakovic, who headed in a Brian Rodriguez corner.
Another corner led to Bradley Wright-Phillips finishing before the veteran forward produced another acrobatic effort in the 11th minute.
Things went from bad to worse for Vancouver when Ranko Veselinovic turned in a Rodriguez cross just three minutes later.
Diego Rossi made it 5-0 after a one-two with Mark-Anthony Kaye in the 33rd minute.
LAFC would have to wait until the second half for a sixth, Rodriguez's cross from the right leading to an Andy Rose own goal.
The win saw Los Angeles climb into sixth in the Western Conference, while Vancouver are ninth.
Orlando City extended their unbeaten run to seven games with a 2-1 win over Sporting Kansas City.
Tesho Akindele and Benji Michel scored before half-time and Orlando held on despite Johnny Russell's 53rd-minute strike.
The Earthquakes' struggles continued with a 5-0 loss to the Colorado Rapids.
San Jose have conceded five goals in a match five times this season, which is the most allowed by a team in a single campaign, according to Opta. The Earthquakes are just 13 games into their season.
Chicago Fire recorded a 4-0 win over the Houston Dynamo, while Inter Miami slumped to a 4-1 defeat against the New York Red Bulls.
History was made as Nashville beat DC United 1-0, with Tori Penso becoming the first female referee to oversee an MLS game in 20 years.
Columbus Crew retained their five-point lead atop the Eastern Conference thanks to a 2-1 win over Minnesota United.
The New England Revolution beat Montreal Impact 3-1, Toronto edged New York City 1-0 and Atlanta United overcame Dallas 1-0.
Cincinnati and Philadelphia Union played out a 0-0 draw, Real Salt Lake enjoyed a 2-0 win over the LA Galaxy and the Portland Timbers edged the Seattle Sounders 1-0.
Though the visitors hit the lead twice in the first half at Exploria Stadium, the Lions equalised as many times, including a finely taken goal from Alexandre Pato in the 36th minute.
Sensing where the ball would drop following Mauricio Peyeyra's ball over and into the penalty area, Pato set himself and calmly volleyed past Maxime Crepeau.
Ilie Sanchez rifled home a mere six minutes into the second half and from there, LAFC were able to sit and absorb Orlando pressure.
After some important saves from Crepeau to deny a third equaliser, substitute Kwadwo Opoku was able to score an injury-time sealer in transition, moving Steve Cherundolo's side to four wins and a draw from five games.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia Union were able to keep their place atop the Eastern Conference, with a 2-0 win at home to Charlotte FC.
The Union took the lead after only four minutes and in uncomplicated fashion, with Sergio Santos running on to a ball over the top and assisting for Julian Carranza from the byline.
Daniel Gazdag doubled the margin a minute within the restart, and similarly to LAFC, absorbed pressure in their defensive half to see out the win to move to 13 points from five games.
NY Red Bulls and Atlanta stayed within three points of Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference with respective 1-0 victories over New England Revolution and DC United. Columbus Crew dropped points at home to Nashville, with Alex Muyl's lone goal the difference.
A Gonzalo Higuain penalty would not suffice for Inter Miami, who remain rooted to the bottom of the ladder in the East, after Phil Neville's side losing 3-1 to Houston Dynamo. Chicago Fire and FC Dallas played out a goalless draw, while Toronto FC beat reigning MLS Cup champions New York City 2-1.
In the Western Conference, Real Salt Lake fell two points behind with a 1-1 draw away to Colorado, Austin FC conceded two goals in as many minutes to eventually play out a 2-2 draw against San Jose Earthquakes.
Ryan Raposo's 73rd-minute winner was enough for Vancouver Whitecaps at home to Sporting KC, while Brent Kallman's own goal eventually condemned Minnesota to their first defeat of the season, losing 2-1 to the Seattle Sounders.
LAFC led twice in the first half at Exploria Stadium but were pegged back on both occasions, first by a finely taken goal from Alexandre Pato in the 36th minute.
Sensing where the ball would drop following Mauricio Peyeyra's delivery into the penalty area, Pato set himself and calmly volleyed past Maxime Crepeau.
But Ilie Sanchez rifled in a third LAFC goal six minutes into the second half and the visitors were able to absorb Orlando pressure thereafter.
After some important saves from Crepeau, substitute Kwadwo Opoku sealed victory in stoppage time, moving Steve Cherundolo's side to 13 points from five games after four wins and a draw.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia Union were also able to keep their place atop the Eastern Conference with a 2-0 win at home to Charlotte FC.
The Union took the lead in uncomplicated fashion after only four minutes, with Sergio Santos running onto a ball over the top and crossing for Julian Carranza from the byline.
Daniel Gazdag doubled the lead a minute into the second half, with that two-goal margin enough for the Union to see out the win and themselves move to 13 points.
New York Red Bulls and Atlanta United stayed within three points of Philadelphia in the East with respective 1-0 victories over New England Revolution and DC United. Columbus Crew lost at home to Nashville, with Alex Muyl's lone goal the difference.
A Gonzalo Higuain penalty counted for little for Inter Miami, who remain rooted to the bottom of the ladder in the East after Phil Neville's side lost 3-1 to Houston Dynamo. Chicago Fire and FC Dallas played out a goalless draw, while Toronto FC beat reigning MLS Cup champions New York City 2-1.
CF Montreal edged FC Cincinnati in a seven-goal thriller, trailing twice in the first half before recovering to win 4-3.
In the Western Conference, Real Salt Lake fell two points behind with a 1-1 draw away to Colorado Rapids, while Austin FC conceded two goals in as many minutes to draw 2-2 against San Jose Earthquakes.
Ryan Raposo's 73rd-minute winner was enough for Vancouver Whitecaps at home to Sporting Kansas City, while Brent Kallman's own goal ultimately condemned Minnesota United to their first defeat of the season, losing 2-1 to Seattle Sounders.
After four losses in five games following the MLS is Back Tournament, LAFC responded with a 4-2 win over Portland Timbers.
LAFC found themselves behind at Banc of California Stadium, where Eryk Williamson opened the scoring in the 25th minute.
But a strong finish to the first half helped the hosts take a lead into the break.
Mark-Anthony Kaye tapped in the equaliser before Diego Rossi put LAFC ahead after a pass from Brian Rodriguez four minutes prior to half-time.
Bradley Wright-Phillips then added to the hosts' lead in first-half additional time, tapping in a Francisco Ginella cross.
But the frantic finish to the half saw Portland – winners of the MLS is Back Tournament last month – pull a goal back through Jeremy Ebobisse's header.
LAFC managed to hold firm in the second half before Danny Musovski tucked away the sealer in the 95th minute.
In a congested Western Conference, LAFC climbed into fourth, above rivals LA Galaxy, who drew 0-0 with San Jose Earthquakes.
Sporting Kansas City are two points clear at the top after a 1-0 win over Minnesota United.
Johnny Russell scored the winner in the 80th minute after getting on the end of a long pass from Graham Zusi.
Sporting are the only team to score in every regular-season match in 2020 and have netted in their first 11 matches of an MLS campaign for the first time since 2007, according to Opta.
In the day's other game, Thierry Henry's Montreal Impact enjoyed a 4-2 win over Vancouver Whitecaps as both teams finished with 10 men.
After three straight losses in all competitions, Los Angeles FC responded by thrashing the San Jose Earthquakes 5-1 at Banc of California Stadium.
Diego Rossi's beautiful finish into the corner opened the scoring after a poor turnover of possession by the Earthquakes in the 21st minute.
But LAFC had to wait until the second half to truly take control.
Another bad turnover allowed Bradley Wright-Phillips through to double the lead, before Jose Cifuentes made it 3-0.
Rossi added his second in the 69th minute before Danny Musovski made it 5-0, Danny Hoesen later adding a consolation goal for San Jose.
The win lifted LAFC up into third in the Western Conference, with San Jose sitting 11th.
The Galaxy made it three straight wins by edging the Portland Timbers 3-2 at Providence Park.
Efrain Alvarez opened the scoring for the Galaxy, completing a fine team move with a finish into the top corner from inside the area.
It took until five minutes into the second half for the visitors to double their lead through Cristian Pavon's individual effort.
Felipe Mora gave Portland hope with a 67th-minute goal, but Joe Corona struck for the Galaxy with a wonderful 20-yard strike.
Diego Valeri came off the bench to add a second for Portland in additional time.
The Timbers are sixth in the Western Conference, one spot behind the Galaxy while being level on points.
Columbus Crew returned to the top of the Eastern Conference after a 1-0 win over Philadelphia Union.
Lucas Zelarayan's deflected 25-yard effort in the 55th minute was enough for Columbus.
Elsewhere, Western Conference leaders Sporting Kansas City were held to a 1-1 draw by Dallas.
Real Salt Lake and the Seattle Sounders drew 2-2 in a clash that featured a screamer from Pablo Ruiz, while Orlando City played out a 1-1 draw with Nashville.
New York City overcame New England Revolution 2-0, Houston Dynamo beat Minnesota United 3-0 and Erik Sorga scored a 98th-minute winner for DC United as they edged the New York Red Bulls 1-0.
Atlanta United and Inter Miami drew 0-0, while Cincinnati's clash with Chicago Fire also finished goalless.
Montreal trailed 2-0 after 14 minutes and 4-2 after 46 minutes, but Ahmed Hamdi scored twice in the final 16 minutes to give the home side a wild victory.
In Nashville, Hany Mukhtar scored in the 10th, 13th and 16th minutes on the way to a 5-1 rout of Chicago Fire.
The six-minute span was the second-shortest for a hat-trick in MLS history after LA Galaxy's Harut Karapetyan needed just five minutes to score three in a 1998 match.
Gustavo Bou's team-leading seventh goal gave New England Revolution a 1-0 win at Atlanta United, snapping a three-game win drought for the Eastern Conference leaders.
Second-half goals from Deiber Caicedo and Cristian Dajome gave Vancouver just their third win from 13 games this season, a 2-1 triumph over LA Galaxy.
Darlington Nagbe's impressive individual effort opened the scoring in a 2-1 Columbus Crew win over New York City FC.
Nani's 77th-minute penalty gave Orlando City a 1-1 draw with Toronto after Jozy Altidore had opened the scoring five minutes earlier, while Cole Bassett's second-half goal for Colorado Rapids earned a 1-1 draw against San Jose.
Kacper Przybylko's 83rd-minute decider gave Philadelphia Union a 2-1 victory over DC United, while Jeremy Ebobisse scored in the 84th minute to lift Portland past Dallas 1-0.
Carlos Vela's left-footed rocket in the 79th minute was the difference in LAFC's 2-1 home win over Real Salt Lake.
The New York Red Bulls-Inter Miami match was postponed due to weather.
Mosquera scored a hat-trick as Dallas cruised to a 4-1 win over the Colorado Rapids at Toyota Stadium.
The Colombian opened the scoring four minutes before half-time, producing a neat finish into the bottom corner after a Michael Barrios cutback from the right.
The hosts doubled their lead shortly after the break through Franco Jara, who met Reto Ziegler's corner with a powerful header.
Dallas were in complete control approaching the hour-mark, Mosquera dispossessing a defender before finishing for 3-0.
Andre Shinyashiki pulled a goal back for the Rapids, but Mosquera completed his hat-trick with another clinical finish.
Mosquera became just the second Dallas player to score an MLS hat-trick at home in the past 11 years and first since Roland Lamah in 2017, according to Opta.
Dallas climbed into fourth in the Western Conference, while the Rapids are 10th.
After losing back-to-back matches to Montreal, the Whitecaps won their third meeting since August 3-1.
Thierry Henry's Montreal were dealt a huge blow with the game locked at 0-0 in the 37th minute as Rudy Camacho was sent off for lashing out at Fredy Montero.
Montero converted the penalty and Cristian Dajome scored before half-time, the former then sealing Vancouver's win after Romell Quioto had struck for Montreal.
Vancouver climbed off the bottom of the west, while Montreal are fifth in the Eastern Conference.
In the day's other game, the struggling San Jose Earthquakes drew 1-1 with the Portland Timbers.
Former Manchester United attacker Nani scored and provided an assist in Orlando's 4-1 thrashing of the Chicago Fire on Saturday.
After Chris Mueller opened the scoring, he crossed for Nani to head in a second in the 24th minute.
Given a chance to get back into the game, Chicago squandered it when Alvaro Medran had a penalty well saved by Pedro Gallese.
Chicago took their next chance from the spot through Robert Beric early in the second half, but Orlando sealed their win late.
Junior Urso scrambled in from inside the area after Nani's set-piece went uncleared, and the Portuguese attacker's pass later found Benji Michel to finish off in additional time.
Orlando are second in the Eastern Conference, five points behind the high-flying Columbus Crew.
Second-half goals from Pedro Santos and Gyasi Zardes saw Columbus record a 2-0 win over Nashville.
Diego Valeri netted a brace as the Portland Timbers crushed the San Jose Earthquakes 6-1 at Avaya Stadium.
Fresh off confirming the signing of Gonzalo Higuain, Inter Miami recorded a second win in three matches by beating Atlanta United 2-1.
Elsewhere, a 10-man LA Galaxy fell to the Colorado Rapids 2-0 and Dallas also finished with 10 but recorded a 3-2 win over Sporting Kansas City.
Haris Medunjanin scored directly from a corner in the 85th minute as Cincinnati beat the New York Red Bulls 1-0 and the Vancouver Whitecaps beat a 10-man Real Salt Lake 2-1.
New York City drew 0-0 with the New England Revolution, DC United and Toronto played out a 2-2 draw, while the Houston Dynamo and Minnesota United did likewise.
Tesho Akindele scored the fastest goal in club history as Orlando got off to a quick start at home to Jaap Stam's Cincinnati on Saturday.
Akindele found the back of the net after just 33 seconds, surpassing the Orlando record set by Chris Mueller (62 seconds) in April 2018.
Nani doubled the lead in stunning fashion in the 19th minute – the former Manchester United star leaving Yuya Kubo on the floor after cutting to his right foot and then his left as he curled the ball past Przemyslaw Tyton.
After Nani hit the post minutes later and saw his shot saved by Cincinnati goalkeeper Tyton just past the hour mark, Junior Urso sealed the victory with 10 minutes remaining.
Orlando – who remain unbeaten through three games – are third in the Eastern Conference, behind leaders New England Revolution and second-placed New York City.
The Revolution edged Atlanta United 2-1 and New York City defeated reigning Supporters' Shield winners Philadelphia Union 2-0.
The Earthquakes and Dallas, meanwhile, both won 4-1 against DC United and Portland Timbers respectively.
Jackson Yueill's brace and a pair of assists from Cade Cowell fuelled the Earthquakes, who are top of the Western Conference on goal difference but level on points with Real Salt Lake, LA Galaxy and Austin FC.
Dallas showed no mercy at home to the Timbers after Andres Ricaurte and Jader Obrian scored in the opening 13 minutes.
Real Salt Lake came from behind to top Sporting Kansas City 3-1 courtesy of Rubio Rubin's second-half double, while MLS newcomers Austin prevailed 1-0 against Minnesota United.
Elsewhere, New York Red Bulls were 2-0 winners over Chicago Fire, defending champions Columbus Crew were held to a goalless draw by Montreal Impact and Houston Dynamo and Los Angeles FC played out a 1-1 draw.
A last-gasp 1-1 draw against New York Red Bulls was enough for Orlando to secure a place in the MLS Cup play-offs on Sunday.
Orlando were stunned in stoppage time – Brian White's 95th-minute equaliser cancelling out Nani's 56th-minute penalty at Red Bull Arena.
But after Toronto edged Atlanta United 1-0, Orlando were assured of their first trip to the play-offs, having entered the league in 2015.
"We've put ourselves in a good position," Orlando forward Daryl Dike said. "Obviously we just made the play-offs today, but I think we're going to carry on. The goal wasn't just playoffs. We're not done now. We just keep going and keep going.
"We want three points every single game and we want to finish the highest in the table. That's the main goal."
Orlando – fourth in the Eastern Conference – are in the midst of a club-record 12-game unbeaten streak, per Stats Perform.
The Crew's 3-1 win over New York City, coupled with Toronto's triumph, sent the team back to the play-offs after missing out last season.
Columbus also snapped a four-match winless streak to move third in the east, two points ahead of Orlando and a point behind second-placed Philadelphia Union.
Elsewhere, LA Galaxy ended a six-game losing skid by topping Vancouver Whitecaps 1-0 thanks to substitute Kai Koreniuk's late winner.
Koreniuk became the first substitute to score for the Galaxy this season – the Los Angeles club were the only team without a goal from a substitute in 2020.
Los Angeles FC's Christian Torres (16 years, six months and three days) became the youngest player to score in MLS since Sporting Kansas City's Gianluca Busio (16 years, four months and 20 days) in 2018, according to Stats Perform.
Torres' last-gasp equaliser earned LAFC a 1-1 draw at Western Conference high-flyers Portland Timbers.
Seattle Sounders drew 0-0 with San Jose Earthquakes, Houston Dynamo played out a 2-2 draw against Minnesota United and DC United beat FC Cincinnati 2-1.
Bruce Arena's side, who clinched their first-ever Supporters' Shield on Saturday, won thanks to Tajon Buchanan's 74th-minute strike.
The result took Revolution's season tally to 73 points from 33 games, eclipsing the previous record mark held by LAFC with 72 points in 2019.
New England have one more regular season match to extend their record, playing Inter Miami at home on November 7.
Canada international Buchanan came up with the winner, showing fast feet to make space for a low shot that beat Rapids goalkeeper William Yarbrough, who had sensationally kept out Henry Kessler from close range minutes earlier.
New York Red Bulls slipped out of the Eastern Conference play-offs spots after a 1-0 defeat to DC United who moved above them into seventh place.
United snapped a four-game winless skid, while also ending the Red Bulls' four-game running run and eight-game unbeaten streak in the process. Kevin Paredes side-footed home the ninth-minute winner for United.
Sporting KC moved into top spot in the Western Conference and dented LA Galaxy's play-offs aspirations with a 2-0 win.
Johnny Russell extended his scoring run to eight straight games with both goals for KC who clinched a top-four seeding as well.
Randall Leal scored two goals and grabbed an assist as Nashville came from two goals down twice to win 6-3 at Cincinnati.
Portland Timbers moved in the west's top four with a 2-0 home victory over San Jose Earthquakes, while Vancouver Whitecaps climbed up to fifth with a 2-1 triumph over Minnesota United.
New York City boosted their Eastern Conference top-four seed hopes with a 1-0 home win over Chicago Fire, while Josef Martinez's winner helped Atlanta United past Inter Miami 2-1 after Gonzalo Higuain had opened the scoring from the spot.
Columbus Crew upset Orlando City 3-2, Toronto held Philadelphia Union 2-2 as Jozy Altidore netted while Real Salt Lake scored twice in the final 10 minutes to win 2-1 at Dallas.
The Revolution improved their record, with back-to-back wins, to the best in the MLS with 30 points from 15 games, sitting atop the Eastern Conference.
Inter are bottom of the east, with only eight points from 14 games, having lost their past six.
Carles Gil provided the assist, his 11th of the season, for Traustason's 15th-minute header, before Teal Bunbury fired in a 27th minute goal from Inter goalkeeper Nick Marsman's parry.
Icelandic midfielder Traustason grabbed his second in the 36th minute, whipping in a shot after a goalmouth scramble from a corner.
Gil was crafty on the right side of the box before setting up another goal with Adam Buksa lashing home a fine volley on the stroke of half-time.
Buksa grabbed a double in the 83rd minute as Gustavo Bou put him into space with the Polish striker finishing with class.
Without Javier Hernandez, LA Galaxy came from two goals down to claim a 2-2 draw away to Real Salt Lake.
Albert Rusnak and Maikel Chang had scored inside the opening 25 minutes to give RSL a 2-0 lead.
Victor Vazquez pulled one back with a top-corner strike in the 33rd minute, before RSL keeper David Ochoa had spectacularly saved a second-half Rayan Raveloson header.
But Madagascar talent Raveloson headed in a 77th-minute equaliser to earn a share of the spoils.
DC United scored twice in the final 10 minutes to rescue a 2-2 draw at struggling Chicago Fire.
Gaston Gimenez's 32nd-minute strike, on his return from the Copa America, and Andy Najar's 61st-minute own goal had Chicago on track but United hit back late.
In the 82nd minute, Yordy Reyna laid off for Kevin Paredes who fired in off the post, before Ola Kamara converted an 87th-minute penalty.
Hungarian forward Daniel Salloi netted a 94th minute equalizer for high-flying Sporting KC to claim a 1-1 home draw with 10-man San Jose Earthquakes who are winless in 10.
Salloi forced home a rebound after Johnny Russell's free-kick hit the woodwork after Nathan had headed the Earthquakes ahead from a corner against the run of play early in the second half.
Felipe Mora glanced on a late winner for Portland Timbers to edge Los Angeles FC 2-1 after Carlos Vela had earlier squared up following Diego Valeri's 100th goal for the club.
Colorado Rapids eased past Dallas 2-0 to extend their unbeaten run, Cincinnati drew 1-1 with Atlanta United and Columbus Crew and Nashville played out a goalless draw.
Toronto drew 1-1 with New York Red Bulls, while New York City edged Montreal 1-0.
After failing to score in their opening two games – a 1-0 loss to LA Galaxy and a goalless draw with Vancouver Whitecaps – City hit the lead after only seven minutes, with Alexander Callens rifling home after Montreal failed to clear their lines from a corner.
Santiago Rodriguez spectacularly chipped Sebastian Breza to double the margin on 20, but only after Montreal gifted City possession in an attempt to play out from their own half.
Zachary Brault-Guillard pulled one back for CFM, but following further City goals from Telles Magno and Thiago Andrade, the scoreline arguably belied the performance.
Douglas Costa opened his account in the MLS later on Saturday, scoring the equaliser in LA Galaxy's 3-2 loss away to Seattle Sounders.
Javier Hernandez gave the Galaxy a shock lead in the sixth minute, after fine link-up play between Raheem Edwards and Kevin Cabral, but the Sounders fought back to lead before the interval – with goals from Jordan Morris and Fredy Montero.
Costa drew the visitors level from the dead ball after 48 minutes, wrong-footing Stefan Frei, but Xavier Arreaga headed home in the 72nd to give the Sounders their first win of the season.
Los Angeles FC continued their unbeaten start to the season, meanwhile, grinding out a 2-0 win against a 10-man Inter Miami at DRV PNK Stadium.
A deflected Carlos Vela pass put Kwadwo Opoku through on the stroke of the interval, and the 20-year-old Ghanaian finished with composure. That didn't spell the end of events in the first half, though, as Brek Shea was given a straight red card in injury time.
LAFC had six shots for the match compared Inter's seven, despite 53 per cent possession and an extra man. However, an Ismael Tajouri free-kick crept inside Inters back post in the 82nd minute to secure the win.
Steve Cherundolo's side are equal top in the Western Conference with Real Salt Lake, who defeated New England Revolution 3-2. Austin FC couldn't keep pace in the final Saturday game, however, going down 1-0 away to Portland Timbers through a Bill Tuiloma goal.
Columbus Crew share the lead in the Eastern Conference, following their 2-1 win over Toronto FC. They are joined by Philadelphia Union, who defeated San Jose Earthquakes 2-0.
A Darwin Quintero brace handed Houston Dynamo a 2-0 win against Vancouver Whitecaps, while Brandon Vazquez scored a double of his own in FC Cincinnati's 2-1 win at Orlando City.
FC Dallas, Chicago Fire and Colorado Rapids respectively secured 2-0 victories over Nashville, DC United and Sporting Kansas City in Saturday's other games.
Tesho Akindele's header after 12 minutes to give Orlando City a 1-0 victory against Toronto FC, giving the Florida side three wins and three draws through six matches.
The Revolution saw off 10-man New York Red Bulls 3-1 behind first-half goals from Gustavo Bou and Tajon Buchanan and an Adam Buksa tally late to seal it.
Two late strikes from Lucas Zelarayan helped the Columbus Crew stun New York City FC 2-1 after the home side led into the 82nd minute.
Felipe Mora's second-half brace and a penalty from Diego Valeri lifted Portland to a 3-0 triumph over 10-man LA Galaxy.
Diego Rossi scored twice before the break as Los Angeles FC held on to defeat Colorado Rapids 2-1.
Houston's Memo Rodriguez and Maximiliano Urruti provided the winning margin for Houston as they won 2-1 over Vancouver.
Sporting Kansas City continued their strong start, shaking off an early San Jose Earthquakes goal from Javier Lopez en route to a 3-1 win as Jaylin Lindsey, Alan Pulido and Daniel Salloi found the back of the net.
Luka Stojanovic lifted Chicago Fire past Inter Miami 1-0 for their first win of the season, and FC Cincinnati also emerged victorious for the first time this term with a 2-1 win at Montreal.
Real Salt Lake escaped with a 2-2 draw at FC Dallas thanks to Damir Kreilach's goal after 86 minutes.
