Whiteside finished the game with a Mutombo-style triple-double adding 19 points and 17 rebounds to go along with his plethora of blocks.
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Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade, left, drives to the basket in front of Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (9) in the second quarter of an NBA basketball game in Oklahoma City, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016. It’s his first missed game due to injury this season. In addition to finishing with a triple double, he kept the Nuggets out of the paint. On the season, he’s averaging 12.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per contest. Enes nevertheless ended up scoring eight points with four rebounds and one assist.
The injuries meant other players needed to step up and that head coach Erik Spoelstra had to manage the game with a smaller rotation. “I told him, ‘Don’t limit my minutes”.
“I wish I knew”. Using SportVU data, I think I’ve found an answer. “That made my decision a lot easier”.
Denver widened the gap with another 31 points in the second quarter, and headed to the locker room with a 16-point lead. Whiteside and Bosh combined for 26 second-half points to lead the rally.
“First half we were shooting 55 percent, so to go all the way down to 41 percent meant our offense was stagnant”, Malone said.
Miami has used five different starting lineups in its last five, with some instance of a new malady popping up about every day on this just-completed trip.
Darrell Arthur led the Nuggets with 18 points, while rookie Emmanuel Mudiay came off the bench with 16 points.
Tied at 95-95 with 1:14 remaining, the Nuggets had a chance to take the lead. Down 97-95, they had just gotten a defensive stop in the form of a missed Chris Bosh jump shot and needed to answer. “I’ve taken shots at the end of the game before”. “Coaches and the guys are letting me play with the ball in my hands more, and allow me to make plays for them”. Wade is hoping to play on Sunday when the Heat faces the Thunder. “Right now, I’m going off how I feel”. Moments before tip-off, Wade was ruled out because of soreness in both shoulders while Andersen flew back to have an MRI on his left knee. Andersen has played just seven games this season….
G Beno Udrih (11 points, 11 assists) started in place of injured G Goran Dragic Friday. For the Nuggets’ health, Jusuf Nurkić will not be able to go as he has a sprained ankle and is dealing with a knee injury. Denver only made five field goals through the period, in 21 tries (23.8%).
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Offensively, he (actually) set solid screens, attacked the offensive glass, drew fouls, threw down a couple of dunks and even sprinkled in a couple of jumpers – an in-rhythm free throw line jumper, and a bank shot over Kenneth Faried.
