|
 Whiteside had his third career triple-double, forward Chris Bosh
scored 24 points and the short-handed Miami Heat rallied to beat the
Denver Nuggets 98-95 on Friday night.
Whiteside had 19 points, 17 rebounds and 11 blocks to pace the Heat
(23-17). The 11 blocks were a season high and one shy of his career
best and helped Miami end a three-game losing streak.
"Hassan Whiteside was an animal tonight," Nuggets coach Michael
Malone said.
Forward Darrell Arthur led Denver (15-25) with 18 points and guard
Emmanuel Mudiay scored 16 off the bench.
The Heat were without guard Dwyane Wade, who sat out with two sore
shoulders. Coach Erik Spoelstra said before the game that Wade had a
slight sprain of one shoulder and "a little bit of an impingement
issue that he's had" in the other.
Wade's absence meant the Heat played without their starting
backcourt and two of their top three scorers. Guard Goran Dragic
missed his second straight game with a strained left calf and Beno
Udrih (11 points, 11 assists) started in his place.
Wade had a front-row seat to watch Whiteside dominate the Nuggets.
"It was fun to watch. Whiteside was huge, and it's unfortunate
because we expect that," Wade said. "I think everyone's come to
expect a guy who can do that, but he did it tonight and that's all
that matters right now."
Wade said he hopes to play Sunday at Oklahoma City after taking
three days off for treatment.
"I haven't gotten any MRIs or nothing," Wade said. "Right now, I'm
going off how I feel."
Whiteside has been bothered by tendinitis in his right knee that has
limited him at times. On the trip to the arena, he told Spoelstra he
felt great.
"I told coach, 'Don't limit my minutes,'" Whiteside said. "'I'm back
to that athletic Hassan you know.'"
Whiteside dominated the paint and nearly had a triple-double in the
second half with 10 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks.
Denver shot just 28.6 percent from the field in the second half and
scored only 33 points, and Whiteside's presence was a big reason.
"It's more so the other team changes their whole game scheme,"
Whiteside said of his blocking ability. "I think the last four or
five minutes I don't even remember a layup. We just kept running
them off the 3-point line and they tried to beat us with mid-range
jumpers."
Bosh and Whiteside brought the Heat back from a double-digit deficit
in the third quarter. Bosh scored 10 points and Whiteside had nine
points, six rebounds and four blocks in the quarter.
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Whiteside slammed home an alley-oop from Udrih at the end of the
quarter to cut Denver's lead to 78-76.
Forward Justise Winslow scored five straight points during a 9-0 run
that gave Miami an 87-82 lead. Whiteside had two blocks early in the
fourth quarter to get his triple-double.
Denver rallied to tie at 95, but Bosh hit a turnaround jumper with
55 seconds left to give Miami a 97-95 lead.
Forward Danilo Gallinari missed a 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds left
and Bosh split two free throws to give Denver a chance to tie. But
guard Jameer Nelson missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
"I just wanted to get a shot off," Nelson said. "I've taken shots at
the end of the game before. It doesn't bother me making or missing."
The Nuggets took advantage of the injury-depleted Heat with a
scorching start. They hit their first five 3-pointers and were
shooting 67 percent midway through the second quarter before cooling
off. They led by as many as 18 points in the first half and were up
62-46 at the break.
"First half we were shooting 55 percent, so to go all the way down
to 41 percent meant our offense was stagnant," Malone said.
NOTES: Nuggets C Jusuf Nurkic did not play because of left knee
soreness. Nurkic missed the first 33 games of the season recovering
from surgery on the knee and was injured in Wednesday's win over
Golden State. .... Miami dressed just 10 players due to injuries. In
addition to G Dwyane Wade (shoulders), C Chris Andersen (left knee),
G Goran Dragic (strained left calf) and F Josh McRoberts (right
knee) were also out. ... Denver G Emmanuel Mudiay continue to come
off the bench as he works his way back from a right ankle sprain
that kept him out of 14 straight games. ... Andersen is scheduled to
have an MRI on his knee.
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