LeBron James inspires Wade-less Heat to a 98-93 victory over Denver Nuggets: NBA Recap
LeBron James had another amazing night with 27 points, 12 assists and 7 rebounds as he carried the depleted Miami Heat to a 98-93 victory over the Denver Nuggets. This defeat ended the 10 year old drought for
the Heat at Denver.
Shane Battier added 18 points which were all scored from the three point land, going 6 of 7 from the three point range. Chris Bosh added 14 while Mike Miller chipped in with 12 points for the Heat.
Ty Lawson had a forgetful night as he scored 0 points in his 36:16 minutes on the court, going 0 out of 7 from the floor. In spite of his woes, the Nuggets coach kept him on, despite having the likes of Wilson
Chandler warming the bench. Andrea Miller led the Nuggets with 19 points and 7 assists while Kenneth Faried played his heart out with 16 points and 20 rebounds on the night.
Heat scored 24 points in the paint compared to 50 by the Nuggets but they more than made up for it with some fine shooting from downtown .The three pointers led Heat to victory as they shot 48.1 percent from
the three point range compared to only 30 percent by their opponents.
Heat looked in control from the start and were up 8-2 in the early going of the first period. Nuggets soon found out their rhythm and scored the next six to tie the score. The Heat started pulling ahead though
and were up 20-12 later in the quarter after James dunked one in. Heat kept up the pressure and were leading 28-20 by the end of the period.
Miami started pulling away slowly and were up 36-27 early in the second period. A jumper by James extended their lead to 42-30 six minutes from halftime. The Heat carried this 12 point advantage till the end
of the period and went into the locker room leading 54-42.
Faried tipped one in early in the third period to cut the deficit down to 49-56 before Heat went for an 8-0 run to cement their authority at 64-49. A 6 nil spree by the Nuggets slashed the deficit down to 62-73
with 2 and a half minutes to go in the period. The Nuggets were trailing 66-79 by the end of period.
The Nuggets got off to a great start in the final period as they went for an 8 nil burst to cut the deficit down to 74-79 and a Corey Brewer layup later on made it a two point game for them at 81-83. The Heat
managed to nip the surge just at the right time though. James scored deuces on either ends of an Andre Miller three point play, and Battier then knocked down a three to extend the advantage back to 90-84.
The Nuggets were not done yet though and a 7-2 run by them made it a one basket game at 91-92. Second later, Norris Cole made a clutch three pointer and that pretty much assured a Heat win.
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