Heat deal Nuggets 1st loss of year, 96-88

By TIM REYNOLDS, AP Sports Writer Nov 6, 11:04 pm EST

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MIAMI (AP)—By the time Dwyane Wade(notes) got rolling, the Miami Heat were already in control.

That’s just fine with the reigning NBA scoring champion.

Wade scored 22 points, Jermaine O’Neal(notes) added 18 and the Heat dealt the Denver Nuggets their first loss of the season, 96-88 on Friday night.

Mario Chalmers(notes) scored 16 points, Quentin Richardson(notes) added 13 and Udonis Haslem(notes) finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat, who are 5-1 for only the third time in their 22 seasons and beat Denver for the first time since Dec. 17, 2004.

“As I continue to keep saying, it’s going to take that for us to be successful,” Wade said of the balanced scoring punch. “I enjoyed it. I really did.”

Denver (5-1) got 30 points from Carmelo Anthony(notes), and little from anyone else. Take away Anthony, and the high-powered Nuggets shot only 12 for 35 through the first 36 minutes, getting outscored 14-0 over a 6-minute stretch spanning the second and third quarters.

Reserve Arron Afflalo(notes) scored 18 for the Nuggets, who were held more than 27 points below their season average.

“I’m not going to give anyone an ‘A’ on this one,” said Nuggets coach George Karl, who remained tied with Red Auerbach for eighth on the NBA coaching wins list with 938. “We all have to be disappointed on how we showed up.”

Making matters worse for Denver, Kenyon Martin(notes) got hurt again.

He left in the second quarter with what the team said was a lower left leg contusion. Karl said Martin will likely get further tests Saturday and could be out “a week or two.”

“When one person goes down, that’s why everybody else gets paid to play,” Nuggets guard Anthony Carter(notes) said. “Kenyon ain’t the whole team.”

Wade started slowly, and it didn’t matter. He missed his first five shots, not getting one to drop until 1:34 remained in the first half. His jumper with 4:12 left in the third gave him 11 points, extending his Heat-record streak of consecutive double-digit games to 100.

The tempo clearly went Miami’s way throughout.

Denver came in averaging 53.8 first-half points. The Nuggets didn’t come close to that Friday, going into the break down 50-38. It was the fourth time in six games Denver trailed at halftime, with the other three each by one point.

There wouldn’t be a comeback this time.

Miami scored 17 of the first half’s final 22 points, and just kept rolling after halftime.

Wade made a jumper 20 seconds into the third quarter, matching his total field goal showing from the entire first half. Chalmers then made another 3-pointer, and O’Neal connected off an assist from Wade for a 57-38 lead, capping what was a 24-5 spurt over a span of about 9 minutes.

“For large stretches of the game, we played really well,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Once Chalmers got into a groove, he put together his best stretch of the season.

All in a span of about 2 minutes, he got past Chauncey Billups(notes) for a reverse layup, made another 3-pointer (he was 6 for 7 from the field at the time) and split the lane with a nifty bounce pass to O’Neal for a 68-44 lead with 5:18 left in the third.

“We got some stops and just went on from there,” Chalmers said.

It got interesting down the stretch: Afflalo’s layup with 3:47 left made it 93-82, the closest Denver had been since late in the first half. But the Heat held the ball for more than a minute on one late possession, offensive rebounds by Haslem and Richardson helping seal the win.

“Obviously, once we got going, we were tough to stop,” O’Neal said.

NOTES: A pregame moment of silence was held for those killed Thursday at Fort Hood. … Denver was again without J.R. Smith(notes), who is still suspended by the NBA. He made 19 3-pointers in his last five games against Miami. … Celeb night: Flo Rida was seated next to Wade’s mother, Jolinda, who was celebrating her 55th birthday. Other stars included Lil’ Wayne, Jon Secada and former University of Miami standout Bryant McKinnie of the Minnesota Vikings.

Updated Nov 6, 11:04 pm EST
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Miami at Orlando

Wed Nov 25, 2009, 7:30 pm EST

Denver vs New Jersey

Tue Nov 24, 2009, 9:00 pm EST

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37 Comments

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  1. Ivette F
    37. Posted by Ivette F Tue Nov 10 4:25am EST

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    Gggggggggggggooooooooooooooooo miami heat gggggggggggggggggggggooooooooooooooooooo dewade wane
  2. GO BACK TO IRELAND STUPID BOSTON KELTICS
    36. Posted by GO BACK TO IRELAND STUPID BOSTON KELTICS Sat Nov 7 9:30pm EST

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    Denver sucks! for all those people who said that the loss to miami was just 1 game, now its 2 games! the denver thuggets suck @ss. denver sucks against the east coast!
  3. Steven
    35. Posted by Steven Sat Nov 7 8:36pm EST

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    we should also lock up t pain , soulija boy, flo rida , and ja rule and officer ricky even through he is a cop.
  4. Steven
    34. Posted by Steven Sat Nov 7 8:35pm EST

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    hey number 33 officer ricky snitch on lil wayne. i am so happy he is going to jail because he killed hip hop with his stupid lollipop.
  5. <i>smninfin2</i>
    33. Posted by smninfin2 Sat Nov 7 5:45pm EST

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    Star Night huh? Flo-Rida and Lil Zane i mean Lil Sneezy oops my bad again it's to easy i mean Lil Wayne where at the game i guess they where sharing tips on how not to drop the soap in the joint. Oh well you reap what you so wanna be gangster.

    P.S. remember the name Deacon Priest!
  6. HeatMarlinsDolphins
    32. Posted by HeatMarlinsDolphins Sat Nov 7 3:32pm EST

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    Go heat !
  7. <i>wjrudy</i>
    31. Posted by wjrudy Sat Nov 7 3:04pm EST

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    Well, darn... I was hoping for an undefeated season.
  8. <i>vc_1992</i>
    30. Posted by vc_1992 Sat Nov 7 12:00pm EST

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    Just a thought, who else was legitimately good in the league when bulls won 72? The Jazz and the Sonics. The league has gotten tougher, with teams like San Antonio, LA, Celtics, Orlando, the Nuggets and there are other teams that can get wins off good teams like Houston, Miami, Portland. So in truth, MJ and his bulls had it easier. There weren't as many good teams, and as for MJ's scoring records, there weren't as many prolific scorers at the time, allowing him to clinch that with ease.
  9. Texas_Hurricane
    29. Posted by Texas_Hurricane Sat Nov 7 11:49am EST

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    Damn Nuggets,

    You Were Supposed To Stay Undefeated Until December 16th!

    Oh Well Circle That Date On Your Calenders As A Loss Denver Fans.
  10. Derrick R
    28. Posted by Derrick R Sat Nov 7 10:56am EST

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    ANd so the Nuggets were beaten too. So much for a 70 win team this year. It wont happen. The Bulls, when they won 72 did not lose this early part of the season. Keep that in mind, you dreamers.
  11. John
    27. Posted by John Sat Nov 7 8:21am EST

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    Impressive win for the Heat. Denver is a very good team. I'm an early believer that the Heat are a lot better than first thought. Go Heat!
  12. sharla j
    26. Posted by sharla j Sat Nov 7 8:01am EST

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    J.R Smith wasnt playing... who else could stop D-Wade's heat except J.R..
  13. <i>expoballs</i>
    25. Posted by expoballs Sat Nov 7 7:39am EST

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    You haven't seen anything yet, Beasley will set the team on fire next month--promise!!!
  14. Alexis Jay
    24. Posted by Alexis Jay Sat Nov 7 5:15am EST

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    Yeah Melo got no help in this game. *sigh*

    Go Denver!!!
  15. GO BACK TO IRELAND STUPID BOSTON KELTICS
    23. Posted by GO BACK TO IRELAND STUPID BOSTON KELTICS Sat Nov 7 5:03am EST

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    The denver thuggets!
  16. rob
    22. Posted by rob Sat Nov 7 4:16am EST

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    miamai looks good but its looks like beasley is a bust. haslem is a bigger and better.
  17. Mark GregoryP
    21. Posted by Mark GregoryP Sat Nov 7 1:48am EST

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    its time to regain the nba world champion since 06 heat did it
  18. gil
    20. Posted by gil Sat Nov 7 12:02am EST

    Report Abuse

    go heat!
  19. Steven
    19. Posted by Steven Fri Nov 6 11:36pm EST

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    have fun in new york wade when you lose bad in the playoffs.
  20. Jose
    18. Posted by Jose Fri Nov 6 11:01pm EST

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    Go heat!!!
  21. Jose
    17. Posted by Jose Fri Nov 6 11:01pm EST

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    Go heat!!!
  22. dutch
    16. Posted by dutch Fri Nov 6 10:40pm EST

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    the top teams, with the top players , will trade wins and losses ....its a long season ....
  23. Matt
    15. Posted by Matt Fri Nov 6 10:35pm EST

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    melo got no help in this game
  24. Lind
    14. Posted by Lind Fri Nov 6 10:32pm EST

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    People relax its one game, anything can happen its the NBA
  25. Fad
    13. Posted by Fad Fri Nov 6 10:28pm EST

    Report Abuse

    hooray for leo you turd lol
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Top Performers

 Top Performers
 Denver
C. Anthony Carmelo Anthony
12-22,  30 Pts
8 Rebs, 2 Assists
 Miami
J. O'Neal Jermaine O'Neal
8-11,  18 Pts
7 Rebs, 1 Assists

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