Nuggets at Heat
Dwyane Wade is playing his best basketball of the season and the Miami Heat guard will try to continue that pace when his team hosts the Denver Nuggets on Friday night. Wade has scored at least 25 points in seven straight games, his longest such streak since December 2010, and comes in off back-to-back 30-point games for the first time in three years. Wade has been particularly strong down the stretch lately and now leads the NBA in fourth-quarter scoring at 7.3.
Wade wasn’t playing at nearly the same level when these teams met Dec. 10 in Denver, as he finished with 10 points on 4-for-15 shooting and Miami lost 102-82 after playing in Phoenix the night before. The Nuggets know what it’s like to go up against a hot shooter as they surrendered a career-high 50 points to James Harden of the Houston Rockets in a 118-108 loss Thursday night in Houston. Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson has rested two of the last four games, including the second game of a back-to-back Monday against the Memphis Grizzlies, so it wouldn't be a surprise if he sat against the Heat after playing 39 minutes Thursday night.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Altitude 2 (Denver), SunSports (Miami)
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (26-43): Randy Foye struggled from 3-point range in January and February but is beginning to find his stroke from beyond the arc. He shot 5-for-12 against the Rockets on Thursday night after shooting 44 percent from long range in his previous nine games this month. Wilson Chandler is another Denver player who can score points in a hurry, as he put up 23 in 31 minutes against Houston.
ABOUT THE HEAT (31-36): The Heat remain in seventh place in the East, a game ahead of the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers. They have a good shot at maintaining a playoff spot if Wade can continue his strong play and Goran Dragic continues to get comfortable in the new offense. Dragic, who came over to Miami in a trade-deadline deal last month, had 11 assists Wednesday against Portland, his most with the Heat.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Heat have six wins in March, one more than they had in February and as many as they had in January
2. Miami has started 18 different players this season, which matches the most in franchise history.
3. Denver is 27-28 all-time against Miami.