Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Nuggets sweep the Heat in season series and deliver the reigning East champs its fourth straight loss

The Nuggets came into Kaseya Center and quenched the Heat in the fourth quarter, sweeping the season series with its Finals Rival.

The Heat was missing Tyler Herro (foot) and Kevin Love (heel).

For the hosts, Terry Rozier, Duncan Robinson, Jimmy Butler, Nikola Jović and Bam Adebayo got their eighth start together, the most of any used by the group this year. Early in the frame, the hosts went scoreless for four minutes, missing six straight shots and committing two turnovers.

While the Heat was stuck in the mud, the champs rattled off a 15-0 lashing, kickstarted by Michael Porter Jr.’s transition pull-up triple and Jamal Murray canning one at the top when Rozier doubled Nikola Jokić in the post. Rozier’s layup, attacking Jokić as the low man, plugged the bleeding. He supplied six points, one dime and a rebound in the first quarter.

Yet, Butler was ineffective shooting over Aaron Gordon and missed a makeable jumper with Jokić in drop coverage. Adebayo converted one of four baskets. And Robinson missed all of his 3-point attempts.

Coach Erik Spoelstra even inserted miniature newcomer Patty Mills next to Rozier, who stands at 6-foot-1, at the end of the period, trying to ignite the offense.

Through 12 minutes, the Heat was down 19-26 and shooting 37.5% from the field, including one of six threes made.

In the second quarter, MPJ hit a trifecta on the right wing over Rozier and another in the left corner when Jaime Jaquez Jr. irrationally sagged off to AG’s drive that Adebayo tagged. He also made a layup, and while standing in the corner, he pump-faked Butler, earning a trip to the charity line for two freebies.

Additionally, Murray splashed a left-side step-back three over Butler, canned a fadeaway over Caleb Martin at the nail and swished two free throws. And Peyton Watson scored four points.

On the Heat’s side, Butler tried two shots in over eight minutes, making one. Adebayo connected on his floater and fadeaway over Watson in the lane but missed two free throws. But the bench- Martin, Jaquez and Thomas Bryant- bailed out the starters by drawing contact, attacking the rim and supplying nine of 12 freebies.

At halftime, the Heat was down 44-50. The Heat picked up 26 paint points, two on the break, six via second chances, four after turnovers and 17 from the bench. Rozier produced 10 points on four of eight looks, with two assists and three rebounds. Butler had seven on his scoring ledger on 37.5% shooting. And Adebayo and Martin poured in six apiece.

The Nuggets had 22 interior points, nine in the open court, five on extra tries, 13 after turnovers and six from the reserves. Porter logged 15 points on five of seven ventures, plus four rebounds. Murray had 10 points, making 42.9% of attempts, with a rebound, and a steal. And Joker supplied eight points, seven rebounds, two dimes and a steal.

Jović and Butler delivered the first strikes, with a catch-and-shoot tray for the former and a fadeaway over KCP in the paint for the latter. Then the Heat captured its first lead since early in the first quarter when Rozier picked up Porter’s fumble and raced down the court, gently finger-rolling off the glass, making the score 56-55. Yet, the advantage changed sides five more times before the third interval ended, with the Nuggets holding it last (72-71).

Adebayo snapped out of his funk by hitting a why not top-of-the-key triple when Joker stared him down at the nail. It was his second made three of the season in 15 tries. He also pivoted past Porter for a dunk, glided down the court for a transition layup, buried two free throws and absorbed five rebounds. On top of that, Robinson attached seven more points, and Butler put on four to his scorecard.

Countering, Jokić made a pick-and-pop jumper at the nail with Adebayo covering his face, plus dished out three dimes to Murray, KCP and Porter. AG barreled into the paint, putback his miss over Jović and dropped in a corner triple. The rest of the Nuggets registered six of 17 buckets.

Afterward, the Heat recorded 33.3% of attempts to close the game. The Nuggets’ backline defense disrupted drives to the rim and forced the pass back outside. Yet, with four minutes left, the Heat was down seven points and still had a chance. The visitors denied them- Jokić bothered Adebayo’s midrange jumper; Rozier helped them out, missing a three, facing Joker in drop coverage; And Reggie Jackson cleanly contested Rozier and Robinson’s left-side bombs.

The Nuggets starters caught a break because the reserves- Christian Braun and Jackson- nearly outearned the Heat by themselves, combining to tally 14 points to the Heat’s 17 in the fourth.

The Heat lost its fourth straight outing, 88-100. The crew managed 52 paint points, 11 on the break, 10 via second chances, 10 after turnovers and 28 from the bench. Adebayo finished with 17 points on seven of 15 opportunities, plus 13 rebounds and three assists. Butler scored 15 on 37.5% shooting and added five rebounds. Rozier had 16 points and four assists.

The Nuggets had 42 interior points, nine in the open court, 10 on extra tries, 15 after turnovers and 24 from the reserves. MPJ churned out 25 points on nine of 16 field goals with seven rebounds. AG had 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Jokić put 12 on his ledger, with 14 rebounds and six assists. And Murray generated 14 points and five assists.

At the postgame presser, Spoelstra was complimentary of the Nuggets, saying, “They’re a complex team: you feel like you have a handle on them, and then they just separate.”

Martin was optimistic for the future of the season. He said, “We’ve got a lot of guys who’ve done a lot of winning in this locker room and on this staff. So we follow their lead. And we will figure it out. But we definitely need to figure it out now.”

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