Denver’s three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic sustained a left knee injury as the Miami Heat defeated the visiting Nuggets 147-123 on Monday.
Norman Powell scored 25 points while Nikola Jovic added 22 and Jaime Jaquez Jr. paired 20 points with 11 assists as the resurgent Heat won their third straight game in a span of four days.
Jokic had 21 points, five rebounds and eight assists in 19 minutes before limping off the court at halftime after hurting his left knee in the dying seconds of the second quarter.
Teammate Spencer Jones accidentally trod on Jokic’s left foot while being forced backwards by Jaquez under Miami’s basket.
Jokic had his left knee hyperextend on impact, and he went straight to the ground in pain before hobbling gingerly to Denver’s locker room at intermission. He did not return.
Jamal Murray posted 20 points and 11 assists for the Nuggets, who took their third loss in four games. Jones scored 16 points, going 5-of-5 on 3-point attempts.
Miami led 41-29 after one quarter, and the gap grew to 52-37 in the second before Jokic piloted a Denver fightback.
He had 13 points in the second period before his evening ended. Bruce Brown added eight points in the quarter, hitting all four of his field-goal attempts, and the Nuggets went 14 of 20 for the period to square it at 63 entering intermission.
The Heat took advantage of Jokic’s absence after the break, using a 28-11 burst to race ahead 91-74.
Jones hit 4 of 4 from 3-point range in the third as Denver went 6 of 9 from deep.
At the other end, Miami knocked down 10 of 14 from long range — Jovic nailing 3 of 3, and Kel’el Ware 3 of 5.
The Heat scored 47 for the quarter to lead 110-99 with one period to play.
When Wiggins buried consecutive treys, the second with 3:29 to go in the fourth, Miami’s cushion grew to 142-115.
The Heat produced their highest point total of the season, while the victory was their first over the Nuggets in 12 attempts.
Miami had last beaten Denver on Aug. 1, 2020, inside the COVID-19 bubble near Orlando.
