Dwyane Wade had 23 points and Goran Dragic added 18 of his own on a tidy 9-13 from the field as the Miami Heat (32-26) had no trouble with the Denver Nuggets (26-44) Saturday, cruising to a 108-91 win.
Kenneth Faried had 20 points, while Ty Lawson added 10 points and 12 assists, though he finished 0-4 from downtown as part of his ongoing struggles shooting the ball. Jusuf Nurkic had 16 points and seven rebounds in his first big game back since ankle surgery, and Randy Foye had 16 of his own.
The Nuggets continued their policy of getting part of the roster a rest – this time, it was forward Danilo Gallinari (who supposedly was dealing with a sore foot) and guard Jameer Nelson. If the plan is to capture the lowest seed possible, Denver’s strategy just might be working.
Nugs seem a bit dispirited last three games. Maybe the “strategic resting” is having its desired affect.
— Jeff Morton (@jmorton78) March 21, 2015
For the second straight night, the second quarter cost the Nuggets the game. Miami outscored Denver 37-23 in the frame, and Denver was fighting an uphill battle from there on out. Whatever slim chance they had left in the game ended in the fourth, when a nine-point Miami run, triggered in large part by Wade, pulled the Heat too far away to catch.
Denver was outscored 21-13 in the quarter, and settled for far too many contested threes in an effort to close the second-half gap, despite both Faried and Nurkic proving pretty effective throughout the game. The Nuggets shot 26 percent from behind the three-point line, and struggled again from the line, hitting under 53 percent of their threes.
The loss is Denver’s third straight. Whoever is available will try and snap that streak Sunday against the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center in Orlando.
Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. MT.
Zach Marburger is a staff writer for Mile High Sports. He can be reached via email at zmarburger@milehighsports.com or on Twitter @BurchBurger.