Nuggets Get Torched By Heat 108-91

The Denver Nuggets came into tonight’s game against the Miami Heat on the second night of a back-to-back, looking to get back on track after a loss to James Harden and the Rockets, but they came away with a 108-91 loss to the Heat in Miami. They jumped out to an 11 point lead in the first quarter with strong play from Randy Foye, Kenneth Faried and Yusef Nurkic. But that lead would disappear as the Heat went on a huge second quarter run to take a 13 point lead into the half.

The Nuggets play in the first half was as good as they have played in their last couple of games, and they shared the ball like they did during the 6-2 start to Melvin Hunt’s first eight games as the Nuggets interim coach. That would change quickly in the second and third quarters as they would lose the big lead they had with the starters on the floor. Kenneth Faried came off the bench tonight as coach Hunt was changing things up to get a better look at the Nuggets younger players.

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Hunt started Erick Green, Gary Harris and Joffery Lauvergne, while leaving Faried, Wilson Chandler and Randy Foye on the bench to start the game. Nurkic and Harris would go on to have decent games, but Lauvergne and Green would not see the floor again after starting the game (with Lauvergne playing only one minute). The game got away from the Nuggets in the second quarter as Dwayne Wade would show that he is not done yet, by going off for a slew of jumpers, drives and dishes to fuel the Heat’s furious comeback.

The Nuggets ended the first quarter leading 23-22, but the Heat would win the second by a ridiculous 37-23 count, and virtually put the game away before the Heat Dancers did their halftime show. The halftime score was 59-46, Heat lead, and the Nuggets had a huge hill to climb after that. The Nuggets made a couple of runs in the second half as they got within five points a couple of times, but they just could not get over the hump with defensive stops and buckets on the offensive end to make the game a real dogfight.

The effort was good by the Powder Blue Crew, but they just didn’t make enough shots to beat a team that had beaten two playoff teams, the Portland Trailblazers and Cleveland Cavaliers, in their two previous games. The Nuggets were led on this night by Faried’s 20 points, six rebounds and two assists, along with Nurkic going off for 16 points and seven rebounds. They also got contributions from Ty Lawson, who came off the bench tonight with 10 points and a game-high 12 assists; as well as 16 points from Foye, and 13 points from Chandler.

The Heat were led by Wade’s 22 points and four assists, along with 18 from Goran Dragic, 15 from Luol Deng and 14 from Hassan Whiteside.

The “Garth Brooks Road Trip” continues on Sunday with a game against the Magic in Orlando. If the Nuggets keep the energy and effort going, they should be able to steal a win in Orlando and have a chance for a really decent road trip.

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