MIAMI — After four months of watching others in the Western Conference, Denver is finally alone at the top of the standings.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 25 points, Aaron Gordon added 16 and the defending NBA champion Nuggets took sole first place in the West standings with a 100-88 victory over the slippery Miami Heat in a rematch in the final on Wednesday evening.
“If we can get (the No. 1 seed), of course we’re going to take it,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “And we’re not going to hesitate to do that. You know, it was very effective for us last year, to have a home field for the duration of the playoffs.
Jamal Murray scored 14 points and Nikola Jokic finished with 12 points, 14 rebounds and six assists for the Nuggets (46-20), who edged Oklahoma City (45-20) by a half-game and a full game ahead of Minnesota (45-21) in the West race.
Denver is an NBA-best 10-1 since the All-Star break, and the Nuggets are 32-9 when their five starters — Porter Jr., Gordon, Murray, Jokic and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope — are together in the line up. The Nuggets hadn’t finished a day alone atop the West since mid-November.
“When they want to use the jets, they’ve been able to leave teams behind in the dust,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Bam Adebayo scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for Miami. Jimmy Butler scored 15, Terry Rozier scored 14 and Duncan Robinson added 11 for the Heat (35-30), who are now 2 1/2 games behind Orlando – winner against Brooklyn on Wednesday – in the race of the South-East division.
The Heat have lost four straight and remain No. 8 in the Eastern Conference, playing again Wednesday without Tyler Herro (foot) and Kevin Love (heel).
Denver is 12-1 in its last 13 games against the Heat, including last season’s NBA Finals, and has won seven straight at Miami’s home court.
Reggie Jackson made three jumpers in three possessions late in the fourth for Denver, his flurry of seven points giving the Nuggets a 10 lead with 3:38 to play. It was more than enough; Denver held Miami to four points in the final 4:34 and outscored the Heat 28-17 in the fourth.
“They were playing me, trying to guard the best player in the world – Jokic,” Jackson said.
Added Spoelstra: “They had their burst, and that was basically the game.”
Denver used a 15-0 run in the first quarter to build a double-digit lead, which eventually grew to 13 points in the opening period. The Nuggets led for almost 2:48 of the first half, but the Heat never trailed by more than eight in the second quarter.
And in the third, Miami finally – but briefly – regained the lead. Former Nuggets center Thomas Bryant scored for a four-point lead late in the third, tying Miami’s biggest advantage of the night, but Denver responded with a 10-2 run and stayed in the lead until ‘at the end.
“We always talk about how your fourth quarter has to be your best quarter,” Malone said. “It’s closing time.”
FOLLOWING
Nuggets: Visit San Antonio Friday night.
Heat: Visit Detroit Friday evening, then again Sunday afternoon.
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