Whiteside's Triple-Double Rallies Heat Past Nuggets, 98-95
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DENVER (AP) — Hassan Whiteside had 19 points, 17 rebounds and 11 blocked shots, and the injury-depleted Miami Heat rallied to beat the Denver Nuggets 98-95 on Friday night.
Chris Bosh made the tiebreaking jumper with 55 seconds left and scored 24 points. Tyler Johnson had 15 off the bench for Miami, which was without Dwyane Wade because of injuries to both shoulders.
It was the first game Wade missed this season due to injury. It left the Heat without their starting backcourt, with Goran Dragic sidelined by a strained left calf.
Without Wade, the Heat trailed by as many as 18 in the first half but outscored Denver 30-16 in the third. Whiteside and Bosh combined for 26 second-half points to lead the rally.
Darrell Arthur led Denver with 18 points and Emmanuel Mudiay had 16 off the bench. The Nuggets were shooting 67 percent midway through the second quarter but ended up hitting 41 percent of their shots for the game.
Rookie Justise Winslow scored five straight points during a 9-0 run early in the fourth that gave Miami an 87-82 lead.
Denver tied it at 95 but Bosh hit a turnaround jumper on the baseline to give Miami the lead again.
Danilo Gallinari missed a 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds left and after Bosh hit a free throw, Jameer Nelson missed a tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
TRIPLE THREAT
Whiteside's triple-double was his second of the season and third of his career. All three have come on points, rebounds and blocked shots. He nearly had a triple-double in the second half with 10 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks.
TIP-INS
Heat: Coach Erik Spoelstra said F Chris Andersen was going to get an MRI on his left knee. Andersen has played just seven games this season. ... Beno Udrih had 11 points and 11 assists.
Nuggets: C Jusuf Nurkic sat out with a left knee injury suffered in Wednesday's win over Golden State. Nurkic had offseason surgery on the same knee and missed the first 33 games. ... Denver made its first five 3-pointers.
UP NEXT
Heat: At Oklahoma City on Sunday.
Nuggets: Host Indiana on Sunday.
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