Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
A late stumble
Waiters’ return provides Heat spark, but not enough to overcome Jokic’s triple-double
This was another of those Miami Heat games with a late six-point lead. Which this season have been a most uneven proposition.
This time the challenge was the Denver Nuggets and the triple-double of Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, on a night Dion Waiters provided a needed spark for the Heat.
And this time the lead could not hold up, with the Nuggets exiting with a 103-99 victory at AmericanAirlines Arena that dropped the Heat again under .500, at 19-20.
Off a timeout with 22 seconds to play, the Nuggets got a driving floater from Jokic, as he improved to 11 of 21 from the field.
The Heat then inbounded with 2.4 seconds to play, with Kelly Olynyk throwing an alley-oop attempt to Josh Richardson out of bounds.
Jokic closed with 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Waiters provided 15 points off the Heat bench.
The Nuggets pushed to an 87-81 lead early in the fourth quarter, after the teams stood tied, 76-76, going into the period.
The Heat then got 3-pointers from Waiters and Richardson as well as a driving layup by Dwyane Wade to move to an 89-87 lead with 6:40 to play.
An alley-oop from Wade to Bam Adebayo
followed for a 91-87 lead with 6:19 to play, with a driving layup by Richardson making it a 93-87 advantage, to complete the 12-0 run.
From there, Waiters missed a pair of free throws and Paul Millsap made a par to leave it tied, 95-95.
Then came an unfortunate turn of events for the Heat, with Millsap fouled on made basket. Although he missed the ensuring free throw, that errant free throw accidentally was tipped in by Justise Winslow, for a 99-95 Denver lead.
The Heat closed within, 99-97, on an Adebayo basket, with a pair of Richardson
misses following.
The Heat then gained possession off a jump ball with 34.7 seconds to play, down two, with Adebayo scoring inside to tie it, 99-99, with 22.9 seconds to play.
Five degrees of Heat from Tuesday’s game:
1. Waiters back: Held out of the previous two games after making his season debut a week ago in Cleveland, Waiters entered with 47.4 seconds to play in the opening period as the third guard off the Heat bench.
With the Heat 6 of 22 from the field to that point, Waiters then made his first two shots, a pair of drives, and later added a 3-pointer.
When Waiters checked out after his initial 11-minute stint, he stood at 4 of 5 from the field, with the rest of his teammates 13 of 36. He also had three assists without a turnover in his opening stint.
Waiters, who is returning from last January’s ankle surgery, took Derrick Jones Jr.’s place in the rotation as the Heat’s 10th man.
Waiters’ initial stint came alongside Wade, the first time the two had played together as teammates.
2. In the zone: Down nine early, the Heat moved to a three-point halftime lead fueled by a 17-10 secondquarter run that featured a return to the 2-3 zone defense.
The Heat entered Tuesday’s game having played zone on 295 possessions, with the Knicks next highest in the league, at 150.
Coach Erik Spoelstra was asked before the game if he had noticed opponents catching on.
“I think it’s probably a little too early to say, but certainly teams are preparing for it,” he said. “That’s good. I think the more things that you have that your opponent has to prepare for is probably a good thing.
“We don’t necessarily
feel compelled to use it, either. It’s what we think is best for that game.”
3. Different breed: Spoelstra went into the game noting how Jokic reminded him a player he used to marvel at while a youth in Portland, former Trail Blazers center Arvydas Sabonis.
Jokic, a unique big man with innate passing ability, again played as the fulcrum of the Nuggets’ attack.
“I enjoy watching their games because of his passing ability,” Spoelstra said. “The vision is something that you can definitely point to, and the size to be able to see over coverages.”
Jokic closed with his fourth triple-double of the second and 20th of his career.
4. Same situation: This was the first of two games in which the Heat catch a visiting opponent on the second night of a back-toback set while coming off a day off.
The Nuggets lost Monday night in Houston. When the Heat play the Celtics in Thursday night’s nationally televised game, it will be after Boston plays at home Wednesday night against the Pacers.
The Heat received a further boost in this one with the Nuggets without starting shooting guard Gary Harris, who missed the game because of a hamstring issue, with former Florida State guard Malik Beasley starting in his place.
These are spots when teams built on depth should be able to wear down opponents, instead having to fight, as they did Tuesday, to their final breaths.
5. No close: With Adebayo thriving at the close, the Heat again played a fourth quarter without Hassan Whiteside, who closed with 12 points and 11 rebounds in 24 minutes.