Takeaways and reaction from Heat’s road loss to Nuggets on a rough night for the defense
Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 123-106 loss to the Denver Nuggets (35-20) on the second night of a back-to-back Wednesday at Ball Arena. The Heat (28-27) fell to 1-2 on its four-game trip:
It was a rough night for the Heat’s top-10 defense.
The Nuggets didn’t miss a beat in their first game without injured star guard Jamal Murray, who sustained a torn ACL in his left knee earlier this week and will miss the rest of the season.
Denver’s top-10 offense produced an efficient 123 points while shooting 53.9 percent from the field and 17 of 36 on threes while committing only 11 turnovers.
“I think Denver outplayed us tonight,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I think you do have to give them credit and they’re a unique team with the way they pass the ball, the way they cut off the ball. They really make you have to concentrate and trust what you do for the entire possession.”
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, a leading MVP candidate, turned in his usual all-around stat line with a triple-double that included 17 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
But it was forward Michael Porter Jr. that stepped up in Murray’s absence with 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting, 10 rebounds and three blocks.
The only thing that really worked to slow down the Nuggets’ offense on Wednesday were turnovers. Miami’s aggressive defense managed to score 10 points off nine first-half turnovers from Denver, but the Nuggets committed just two turnovers in the second half.
“They’re an exceptional passing team and I think they just settled in,” Spoelstra said. “We can be a really disruptive defensive team, but I think they just got to their spots and Jokic made some really nice passes to the weak side, to cutters and that kind of loosened things up.”
When the Nuggets were able avoid turnovers and get shots up, too many went in.
The Heat actually led by five after the first quarter, but Denver outscored Miami by a combined score of 70-48 in the second and third quarters to take control of the game.
This was an uncharacteristic performance from the Heat’s defense, which entered with the NBA’s sixth-best defensive rating (allowing 109.3 points per 100 possessions). Miami also entered limiting opponents to the third-worst shooting percentage this season at 44.8 percent.
But for as good as the Heat’s defense has been this season, Wednesday was the fourth game its opponent has finished with an offensive rating of 130 or better. Miami had three such games all of last season.
“This is something that we’ve been trying to get better with is our consistency,” Spoelstra said. “For the large majority of the season, we’ve been a very good defensive team and then we’ve had these games where it gets away from us and we’re trying to eliminate those, obviously.”
After taking just six shot attempts in Tuesday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns, Heat center Bam Adebayo took an ultra-aggressive approach one night later.
The difference in Adebayo was clear from the start, as he took five of Miami’s first six shots. Adebayo surpassed his six-shot total from Tuesday in the first quarter alone, with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting in the opening period Wednesday.
“I thought it was me just putting my head down,” Adebayo said. “Coach was putting me in my spots and I was just trying to make plays.”
Adebayo finished with a team-high 21 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 shooting from the foul line, six rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals. But he shot just 2 of 7 at the rim in the loss.
“We have to make a conscious effort as a team to get him involved and get him in his sweet spots because he creates so many good things for our team,” Spoelstra said, “and we still need to get better with the execution when he’s catching the ball in the paint.”
With Adebayo playing the role of shot taker on Wednesday, the Heat’s offense was better than it was in its 86-point performance on Tuesday. Miami finished its loss in Denver with 106 points on 49.4 percent shooting from the field and 13-of-32 shooting on threes.
Instead, the Heat’s defense was to blame for Wednesday’s defeat.
Jimmy Butler played through a sprained right ankle, but he sat out the entire fourth quarter because of the lopsided score.
Butler finished Wednesday’s loss with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, three rebounds, nine assists and three steals in 28 minutes.
Butler played despite spraining his ankle the night before late in Tuesday’s loss to the Suns.
With Miami trailing by double digits, Butler went up for a midrange jump shot and turned his right ankle on the landing with 11:47 remaining in the fourth quarter in Phoenix. Butler limped to the bench after Heat trainers checked on him, but he managed to return to Tuesday’s game with 7:52 to play.
Still, there was the question of how Butler’s injured ankle would respond after a postgame flight to Denver. He was listed as questionable for Wednesday’s contest, but he was eventually cleared to play against the Nuggets.
“There’s no doubt about it that Jimmy will always want to go,” Spoelstra said before Wednesday’s game. “But we evaluated him today and he passed all the tests with the trainers and that allowed him to where we all feel comfortable with him going tonight.”
The Heat continues to take a cautious approach with veteran guard Goran Dragic, but veteran center Dewayne Dedmon made his Heat debut.
Dragic played 28 minutes in Tuesday’s loss to the Suns, but he was held out of Wednesday’s game as the team opted to rest him on the second night of a back-to-back. He also missed the back end of Miami’s previous back-to-back, sitting out an April 1 win over the Golden State Warriors.
“This is just something we want to monitor and be smart about,” Spoelstra said Wednesday of the team’s plan for Dragic over the final month of the regular season. “He’s feeling great. Our schedule is pretty busy and we think this will help.”
Wednesday marked the 20th game that Dragic has missed this season — two because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols, three because of a left groin strain, nine because of a sprained left ankle, four because of lower back spasms, and the two he most recently missed on the second night of back-to-backs.
Dragic has no new injury, but the Heat wants to protect him because he’s a veteran who has dealt with multiple injuries this season. After Wednesday’s game in Denver, Miami has four back-to-back sets remaining on its schedule.
Dragic, who turns 35 on May 6, is expected to be back for Friday’s game against the Timberwolves in Minnesota.
As for guard Victor Oladipo, he remains out indefinitely because of right knee soreness. He missed his third straight game Wednesday and is not on the trip, with the Heat saying there is no update on Oladipo’s status.
Dragic and Oladipo were the only two players unavailable for the Heat in Denver.
Without Dragic, who has played a key reserve role, Miami’s bench again was outplayed. After the Suns’ reserves outscored the Heat’s bench 65-24 on Tuesday, the Nuggets’ bench outscored the Heat’s reserves 48-34 on Wednesday.
Dedmon made his Heat debut in Denver, entering with 6:14 to play and the Nuggets already in control of the game. He finished with three points, five rebounds and two blocks in six minutes for his first game action since March 11, 2020.
“Those were important,” Spoelstra said of Dedmon’s minutes. “He felt like he played 30 minutes and it was six minutes. He has been doing a lot of work, conditioning work and drill work to try to fast track this. But you can see, though, that his fitness level is high. It’s just a matter of getting those basketball competitive reps. But he’s big, he’s a great communicator out there, he has experience. So you can see where he can help.”
The Heat’s losing skid in Denver continues.
Wednesday’s loss marked the Heat’s fourth consecutive against the Nuggets in Denver — a skid that dates back to the 2017-18 season. Miami has lost its last three games in Denver by a combined total of 53 points.
The Heat owns a 14-21 all-time road record against the Nuggets.
The loss also dropped Miami to seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings. The Heat is one-half game behind the sixth-place New York Knicks and one-half game ahead of the eighth-place Charlotte Hornets.
This story was originally published April 15, 2021 at 12:16 AM.
