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 Thanks to the Denver Nuggets' dominant third quarter Wednesday,
the overworked point guard got a head start on his downtime.
Forward Wilson Chandler scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds,
guard Arron Afflalo added 16 points, and the Nuggets outscored Miami
31-14 in the third on their way to a 102-82 win Wednesday night.
Center Chris Bosh scored 14 points and guard Dwyane Wade had 10 for
the Heat, who lost for the fifth time in six games. It was Wade's
lowest point total since Nov. 1, when he had nine in a blowout win
at Philadelphia.
"They switched a lot of stuff," Wade said. "There was no space on
the floor. We just really didn't get any good looks."
Injuries to the backcourt have forced Lawson to play heavy minutes
of late. The sixth-year guard out of North Carolina averaged nearly
43 minutes in the previous four games, but he logged only 30 minutes
Wednesday and sat for the entire fourth quarter.
 "It's like a day off," Lawson said. "I've been playing 48 minutes,
something like that, so it feels good to get my legs back and have a
chance to rest."
Miami (10-12) is in the midst of eight of 10 games away from home.
After starting the season 5-2 on the road, the Heat are 1-5 away
from Miami, with the lone win coming in Phoenix on Tuesday.
The Heat didn't have any rest before facing the Nuggets. On
Wednesday, Miami was victimized by playing the second game of a
back-to-back at altitude.
"This is the worst back-to-back in the league," Wade said. "You come
in to see what you can do. You try to come out and compete. We did
that for a half, and then it got away from us in the third quarter."
The Heat, who trailed by 12 early, hung tough for 24 minutes. Miami
rallied to tie it 48-48 at halftime on forward Luol Deng's jumper at
the buzzer.
The Nuggets (10-12) took control in the third. A steal by Lawson led
to a dunk for forward J.J. Hickson that gave Denver a 59-50 lead.
Lawson scored 10 points and handed out nine assists, one shy of
reaching a double-double for the ninth time in 10 games.
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Denver center Timofey Mozgov's dunk and three-point play made it
72-59, and rookie guard Erick Green finished the third quarter with
a jumper and then a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Nuggets a
79-62 lead.
"Once I hit that, it really boosted my confidence and got me going
from there," Green said.
His play allowed coach Brian Shaw to sit Lawson and give him some
valuable rest.
"I know he plays a lot of minutes," Green said of Lawson. "Just
giving him a breather here and there and sticking me in there and
show I can hold my own, it'll be good for myself, Ty and the team."
The Nuggets led by as many as 27 in the fourth.
"By the end of the third quarter, it just started to get too far
into the double digits," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We just
didn't have enough juice. Whether it's because of (Tuesday) night or
the competition or whatever, we didn't have enough."
Denver forward Kenneth Faried finished with 13 points and eight
rebounds after missing two games with a back injury.
The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Nuggets, who are
hitting a tough stretch in their schedule. In the next nine days,
they play the Houston Rockets twice and San Antonio Spurs and the
Los Angeles Clippers once apiece.
NOTES: Nuggets F Danilo Gallinari did not play because of two bone
bruises on his right knee. Gallinari played just 5:36 in Monday's
overtime loss at Toronto. ... Miami F Josh McRoberts was out of the
lineup because of a right knee contusion. McRoberts sustained the
injury late in Tuesday's win at Phoenix. ... Denver was without
backup PG Nate Robinson (back) and C JaVale McGee (left tibia).
Robinson missed his third consecutive game, and McGee sat out his
eighth in the past nine. ... Miami C Chris Andersen missed his
eighth straight game with a sprained right ankle that occurred Nov.
23 against Charlotte.
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