MIAMI — Jusuf Nurkic got a chance to start and finished with a career-high-tying 16 points, but his focus after the Nuggets’ third consecutive loss Friday night was on a foul he committed in the first quarter.
The Nuggets had control of the Heat at that point, looking nothing like you’d expect from a team that lost less than 24 hours earlier in Houston.
But after Nurkic picked up his second foul with 4:26 left in the quarter, the Nuggets’ nine-point lead dissolved as did their hopes of beating the Miami Heat.
Despite another spirited effort by Kenneth Faried, the Nuggets fell 108-91 to the Heat at American Airlines Arena. A 37-13 Heat run after Nurkic went to the bench, and a 37-point second quarter from the Heat, dropped the Nuggets to 1-3 on this five-game trip that will end Sunday in Orlando.
“We played our game, our basketball, and then I had my second foul,” said Nurkic, who started with Danilo Gallinari sitting out because of a foot injury. “It was my fault. I need to be more patient.”
Said interim coach Melvin Hunt of the 7-foot rookie: “That’s the thing the young man’s got to learn. … He can’t help himself. He’s an aggressive guy, and I’d rather tell him ‘whoa’ than ‘giddy up.’ So I’m going to let him play as hard as he can.”
Faried led the Nuggets with 20 points on 10-for-15 shooting, and also recorded six rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots.
Randy Foye tallied 13 of his 16 points in the second half, including a 3-pointer that trimmed the Nuggets’ deficit to 75-70 in the third quarter.
But the Nuggets couldn’t draw closer than five points. Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 22 points, Goran Dragic had 18 and Luol Deng added 15.
“We made a late push, but they hit some big shots at the end and were able to keep the lead,” said guard Gary Harris.
The Nuggets made 10 of their first 13 shots while repeatedly attacking in transition and claimed a double-digit lead.
But they missed 10 of their next 11 from the field — Erick Green’s corner 3-pointer was the lone basket after a 16-2 Heat run — and trailed by as many as 15 in the second quarter.
The Nuggets entered the half down 59-46, with their starting backcourt and bench both getting dominated by the Heat’s. Foye registered just more points (five) than fouls in the first half, and Ty Lawson was scoreless (0-for-3), though he dished seven assists.
Meanwhile, Wade had 14 points and Dragic had eight. Led by Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers, who combined for 17 points, the Heat’s bench also outscored the Nuggets’ reserves 23-7.
The Nuggets’ best player was Faried, who was a factor on both ends of the court with 14 points (7-for-10), three rebounds and two blocks.
“He always plays with his heart. The outward represents the inward,” Hunt said. “He’s got arms flying, he’s getting hurt, he’s getting back up. He’s the Manimal.”
