Heat 103, Nuggets 98
LeBron James scored 33 points and Dwyane Wade tallied 32 points to propel the Miami Heat to a 103-98 victory over the visiting Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
Chris Bosh added 18 points, 11 rebounds and six assists as Miami (48-22) won for the fifth time in six games.
J.R. Smith scored 27 points and Danilo Gallinari added 23 points for Denver (41-29).
The Heat led 79-66 late in the third quarter before Denver worked its way back into the contest. Gary Forbes hit a 3-pointer to pull the Nuggets within 82-78 with 10:08 remaining, and the deficit was again four before Miami ran off 10 straight unanswered points to take a 94-80 lead on Wade’s 3-pointer midway through the fourth.
Mike Bibby scored 14 points and had four 3-point baskets for the Heat, who jumped out a 12-1 lead before Nene scored Denver’s first field goal with 7:22 left in the opening quarter. The margin reached 25-9 on James’ dunk with 3:47 remaining.
Ty Lawson added 16 points for Denver, which played without point guard Raymond Felton, who sprained an ankle in Friday’s loss to Orlando.