Missing Wade and Goran Dragic, the Heat went into halftime with a 16-point deficit.
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After falling behind by 22 points in the third period, the Heat went into the fourth down, 75-57, with Wade’s frustration building to the point of a technical foul in that third period.
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.
Miami enjoyed an 87-82 lead, thanks to first-round pick Justice Winslow’s 5 point run after the game was tied at 82.
Miami reached the midway point of its schedule at 23-18, despite eight home losses and seven games in which it lost after holding double-digit leads. Well, to put it in a better way, Hassan Whiteside happened who registered 5 blocks in the quarter and the Nuggets large lead became a mere 2 point lead at the end of the quarter.
After his performance in Denver, Whiteside yet posted another strong game against the Oklahoma City Thunder as he finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocked shots.
Those figures don’t even include the likes of Dwyane Wade or Luol Deng, so it will be an interesting offseason for the Heat and Whiteside. The Heat outscored the Nuggets 52-30 in the second half.
“Talking to him, and him letting me know how he approaches the game and what he’s thinking in certain situations, it’s helping me out tremendously”, Middleton said. Josh McRoberts’ knee pain has sidelined him for six weeks, Chris Andersen returned to Miami early because of a bone bruise, Jarnell Stokes has been sick and Gerald Green left the Thunder game early because knee tendinitis was flaring up.
Emmanuel Mudiay has his best game since returning from his ankle injury, leading the Nuggets with 12 first half points, and finishing with 16 points, two made 3-pointers and four assists, but it was fellow rookie Nikola Jokic who impressed the most tonight with his court vision and passing ability.
Whiteside could command an $80 million contract this summer, should he not sign a one-year deal before the NBA Salary Cap really explodes in Summer of 2017. Before Dragic was injured, Miami averaged 13.7 turnovers per game, fifth-fewest in the league.
“We’re dealing with a lot”, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, adding, “Welcome to the National Basketball Association in January”. Miami got off to a good start with a win in Phoenix.
Milwaukee is in the midst of a four-night stay in South Florida.
Bosh and the Heat are back from their road trip, but another starts soon. None of the Nuggets had more than one.
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Milwaukee will practice in Miami on Wednesday, then fly to Houston.
