Heat’s Wade sits out Friday’s game

I don’t recall ever seeing a game where there were so many blocked shots and one player was so dominant on defense.

“He dominated the game”, Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.

The Denver Nuggets held a 16 point lead at halftime, their biggest halftime lead of the season, but couldn’t hold on as Hassan Whiteside and his 11 blocks led the Miami Heat, playing without Dwyane Wade, to a 98-95 win in Denver.

The injuries meant other players needed to step up and that head coach Erik Spoelstra had to manage the game with a smaller rotation.

“It was fun to watch. Being able to show stability in the midst of a storm”, Spoelstra said. The Heat are in the midst of a lengthy road-trip, and they’ll need Wade to survive it-so hopefully he isn’t hampered much going forward.

“At lunchtime today, talking to Chris about what I was going to do, he said, ‘Take it off, ‘” Wade said. The loss to the Heat goes right along with the struggles the Thunder have had against the Eastern conference. “I told him, ‘Don’t limit my minutes”.

Think as far back as when you were a child. He ended the game with 19 points, 17 rebounds and a staggering 11 blocks.

Most teams like the Lakers and Mavs, will try to pry Whiteside away from the Heat. The Heat play Tuesday, then are scheduled to fly to Washington later that night to start another five-game swing.

While Whiteside, Westbrook and Smart were all victorious, Brooklyn Nets guard Donald Sloan fell short on both accounts with 15 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, the Nets losing to the Portland Trail Blazers. Denver’s next game will be at home on Sunday against the Indiana Pacers.

F Justise Winslow scored five straight points during a 9-0 run that gave Miami an 87-82 lead.

Denver came back and tied the game at 95 with 1:46 left in the game. But Jameer Nelson’s 3-pointer missed at the buzzer.

The Thunder took control of the game early. “It doesn’t bother me making or missing”. He’s been a bright light during the Heat’s solid start.

The Heat trailed by as many as 18 in the first half but outscored Denver 30-16 in the third. Since Whiteside is in just his second season in Miami, the Heat does not have his Bird rights, limiting any Whiteside offer to four years, similar to what any other prospective suitor can give.

Emmanuel Mudiay made a number of fantastic plays, but his emphatic dunk over Hassan Whiteside was definitely the play of the night for the Nuggets. Dwyane Wade missed his second game of the season against the Denver Nuggets on Friday because of injuries to both shoulders.

Whiteside (knee) will play Friday versus the Nuggets, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post reports. “We just kept running them off the 3-point line and they tried to beat us with mid-range jumpers”.