Heat-Nuggets Preview

By TAYLOR BECHTOLD
Posted Nov 15 2012 9:43AM

While their offense has been up to the task, the Miami Heat's defense hasn't been close to championship form.

The Denver Nuggets have similar concerns defensively with the NBA's highest-scoring team coming to town Thursday night.

After finishing fourth in the league in scoring defense at 92.5 points per game during their 2011-12 championship season, Miami (6-3) ranks near the bottom at 101.0 points per game this season.

The Heat allowed just 16 of 66 opponents to reach 100 points last season, but have let six teams surpass that mark in 2012-13.

Miami fell to 2-2 on its six-game road trip following a 107-100 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday. The Heat, who have lost 10 straight at Denver, now must deal with a Nuggets team which ranks fifth in the Western Conference with 99.1 points per game.

"We have some good moments, but we have to put a full game together on the road," guard Dwyane Wade said. " The important thing right now is to figure out how we can get better."

The Heat have compensated for some of their defensive deficiencies by leading the NBA in scoring (104.9) and 3-pointers made (80) and are second in field-goal percentage (49.7). With LeBron James (24.6), Chris Bosh (19.8) and Wade (16.9), Miami is one of two teams with three players among the top 30 in scoring.

James scored 30 points and Ray Allen added 14 on four 3-pointers against the Clippers. Wade, though, was held to six while playing with a sprained left foot.

"I had some shots that I normally make that I wasn't able to hit, but I just tried to help as much as I could and do my job as a leader on the floor," said Wade, 0-8 lifetime at Denver despite averaging 22.0 points on 50.4 percent shooting.

Denver, 2-0 at home, will attempt to regroup after having its four-game winning streak snapped in a 110-100 loss at Phoenix on Monday night.

Andre Iguodala led five players in double figures with 17 points, JaVale McGee added 16 and Danilo Gallinari had 15 for the Nuggets (4-4), whose 21 turnovers offset their 61.1 percent shooting (11 for 18) from 3-point range and 53.9 percent overall.

Kenneth Faried, who added 14 points and 11 rebounds against the Suns for his fourth consecutive double-double, has keyed a Nuggets squad that leads the NBA in rebounding at 51.0 per game and outrebounds opponents by more than eight per contest.

While containing the Heat will be a challenge, the Nuggets had held four consecutive opponents to fewer than 100 points in regulation before Monday. They also held three straight opponents under 40.0 percent before the Suns shot 45.7 percent.

"Defensively, we've been a lot better the last four games and we just had some mental lapses and coverages," Iguodala said.

The Nuggets will have to defend better than earlier this month when Allen had a go-ahead four-point play with 6.7 seconds left to give the Heat a 119-116 win in Miami on Nov. 3. Bosh had 40 points, Allen hit a season-high six 3-pointers and scored 23 while James finished one rebound shy of a triple-double.

Faried had 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Nuggets, who lost despite outrebounding the Heat 47-32 and outscoring them 72-40 in the paint.

LeBron leads Heat past Nuggets 98-93

By ARNIE STAPLETON
Posted Nov 16 2012 2:42AM

DENVER (AP) The Miami Heat's decade-long drought in Denver is history.

LeBron James had 27 points and 12 assists, and the short-handed Heat beat the Nuggets 98-93 Thursday night, holding on despite having played four games in five nights and missing two starters.

"We came out to play," James said. "We played great for three quarters and we knew they were going to make a run and we came too far to let that game slip away from us."

Shane Battier added 18 points - all on 3-pointers - in the Heat's first win at Denver since Jan. 29, 2002, a streak of 10 straight losses. Every other NBA team has won at the Pepsi Center during that span.

"This is a tough building to play in, especially when you get in at 5 in the morning because this altitude is nothing to play with," James said. "So, I just tried to go to another level, I just tried to find a little bit of energy to help our team win the ballgame and fortunately I was able to do that."

The Heat nearly blew a 19-point second-half lead but held on despite being without Dwyane Wade (foot) and Mario Chalmers, who went to the bench after just 7 1/2 minutes with a strained right triceps. Even James had an ice pack on his right shoulder after the game.

"Yeah, it's a little sore," he said.

Andre Miller had 19 points and Kenneth Faried led the Nuggets with 16 points and a career-high 20 rebounds as Denver outrebounded Miami 48-29 and outscored the Heat 50-24 in the paint. But the Heat kept their turnovers down and hit 13 3-pointers. Battier and Mike Miller combined for 10 of them.

"You've got Wade out and you surround LeBron James with 3-point shooters and they knock them down," lamented Andre Miller.

Ty Lawson, who is averaging 13.5 points, didn't score.

Lawson would have given Denver its first lead of the night with 5:35 remaining, but his breakaway basket was waived off when he was whistled for an offensive foul for running over Battier.

"That's demoralizing," Miami's Ray Allen said, "because you make a great defensive play when they had numbers offensively. It's just those intangible plays that at the end of the year it's got you five or six wins."

Coming off a loss to the Clippers 24 hours earlier, the Heat looked primed for a letdown at altitude but instead never trailed in beating Denver for the second time in two weeks even though the Nuggets outrebounded them 48-29 and outscored them in the paint 50-24.

"It just seems like when you come here, based on the geographical location, that the team is always catching us," Allen said. "You come out from the East Coast to the West Coast. You never play this game first, you play this on the back-to-back night. You lose an hour and you come in late, so this game always gets you. And this was a setup game for us. But we just managed it from the beginning. We didn't let ourselves get behind."

Allen, who had the go-ahead four-point play with 6.7 seconds left in a 119-116 win over Denver in Miami on Nov. 3, sank a 3-pointer just before halftime that gave the Heat a 54-42 lead at the break.

The Heat went up 70-51 on back-to-back 3s by Mike Miller and Battier and still led 79-66 heading into the fourth quarter, when the Nuggets cut the Heat's lead to one point on a couple of occasions - but kept blowing chances to go ahead.

JaVale McGee had 18 points, including a hook shot after getting the inbounds with just 0.4 seconds left on the shot clock that made it 79-74, and the Nuggets chipped away until Andre Miller's three-point play pulled Denver to 85-84.

That's when Lawson had a breakaway as the crowd cheered what it thought was Denver's first lead of the night.

After missing two free throws, Faried made two, pulling Denver to 92-89. Andre Iguodala's two foul shots at 1:37 made it a one-point game again.

Allen missed a 3, but Danilo Gallinari rushed a long-range 3-pointer with about 15 seconds left on the shot clock that missed the basket by several feet.

"At that moment we were wearing them out a little bit, the momentum was on our side, keep attacking, that would be my choice," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "The hustle, the energy was on our side, so don't go out of character. That was somewhat out of personality. We don't pull quick 3s."

James fed Norris Cole, who made the Nuggets pay for Gallinari's gaffe with a 3-pointer at the other end for a 95-91 lead.

Gallinari then mistakenly let the ball go out of bounds at midcourt, giving possession back to Miami, and James sank two free throws with 23 seconds left to ice it.

Notes: Wade was held out because of a sprained left foot a night after scoring just six points - well below his 18.4-point average - in Miami's 107-100 loss to the Clippers. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said the move was cautionary, emphasizing, "It's not anything major. He has a bunch of little, minor, nagging injuries, so we'll continue to take it day by day." ... Faried's previous best was 17 rebounds.

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Reach out to Arnie Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton

Notebook: Heat 98, Nuggets 93

Michael Kelly, for NBA.com
Posted Fri Nov 16, 2012 2:58 AM - Updated Fri Nov 16, 2012 9:23 AM

THE FACTS: LeBron James had 27 points and 12 assists, Shane Battier was 6-for-7 from 3-point range on his way to 18 points and the Miami Heat ended more than a decade of futility in Denver with a 98-93 win over the Nuggets on Thursday.

Mike Miller had 14 points for the Heat, who snapped a 10-game losing streak in Denver despite not having guard Dwyane Wade, who sat out with a strained right foot.

Andre Miller scored 19 points and nearly brought the Nuggets back from 19 down. JaVale McGee had 18 points and Kenneth Faried scored 16 and grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "This is a tough building to play in, especially when you get in at five in the morning."

-- James

THE STAT: The Nuggets hurt themselves with poor 3-point defense and another bad night at the foul line. Miami hit 13-for-27 from long range and it again missed crucial free throws. It's 30th in the league in foul shooting.

TURNING POINT: After trimming a 19-point deficit to one, Ty Lawson had a chance to give Denver its first lead of the game. He hit a runner in the lane that was negated when Battier drew the offensive foul. Denver never took the lead.

QUOTABLE II: "The first quarter, that was pretty much the deciding point of the game. And them knocking down 3s. You've got Wade out and you surround LeBron James with 3-point shooters and they knock them down."

-- Miller

HOT: Battier stayed outside on offense and it paid off for him and the Heat. The forward hit his first three from long range and only took 3-pointers in the first three quarters, hitting 5-for-6.

HOT II: McGee doesn't get many plays run for him but he makes the most of his touches. In the fourth quarter he scored six points during a 17-4 Denver run, including a running hook as the shot clock expired. McGee has built on his playoff performance from the spring.

NOT: The Nuggets' 3-point defense struggled against the Heat, which came into the game second in the league in shooting percentage from long range. Miami hit its first four shots from behind the arc in the third quarter to extend its halftime lead to 19.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Faried continues to be a beast on the boards. He is averaging a double-double this season and nearly had that in the first half.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Several Denver Broncos players were in attendance, including linebacker Von Miller, running back Willis McGahee and cornerback Champ Bailey, who was sporting a LeBron James sweatshirt.

GOOD MOVE: James evoked cheers from the fans who booed him at the start of the game when he blocked Corey Brewer's shot at one end and then finished an alley-oop at the other in the first quarter. He later heard cheers when Kosta Koufas blocked his drive into the front row early in the third quarter.

BAD MOVE: With the Heat reeling and trying to hold on, the Nuggets had another shot at the lead with 1:05 left. But Danilo Gallinari jacked up a quick 3-pointer that missed and Norris Cole drained a 3 from the corner to seal the game.

QUOTABLE III: "At that moment we were wearing them out a little bit, the momentum was on our side, keep attacking, that would be my choice. The hustle, the energy was on our side so don't go out of character. That was somewhat out of personality. We don't pull quick 3s."

-- Nuggets coach George Karl

NOTABLE: Heat point guard Mario Chalmers suffered a strained right triceps in the first quarter and didn't play after logging seven minutes. ... Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Wade sitting out was a precautionary move and he's day-to-day. ... Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler sat with a sore left hip.

UP NEXT: For the Heat, Saturday @ Phoenix, Wednesday vs. Milwaukee, Saturday vs. Cleveland. For the Nuggets, Saturday @ San Antonio, Monday @ Memphis, Wednesday @ Minnesota.

• Heat: Pittman, Wade
• Nuggets: Miller, Stone

• Heat: --
• Nuggets: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Pepsi Center, Denver, CO
• Officials: #55 Bill Kennedy, #26 Pat Fraher, #33 Sean Corbin
• Attendance: 19155
• Duration: 2:25