On January 18th at 9 AM Beijing time, the Miami Heat will face the Denver Nuggets at home for their second matchup of the season, with the Nuggets currently leading 1-0. In this game, Jimmy Butler, who was previously suspended and unpaid by the Heat for seven games, has officially been released from his suspension and returned to the court. Butler immediately posted multiple photos on social media of himself wearing a Jordan Bulls No. 45 jersey to demonstrate his strong comeback. Kevin Love, a veteran of the Heat, also welcomed Butler's return on social media. On the Nuggets' side, Jamal Murray (left knee inflammation), Jokic (right elbow sprain), and Aaron Gordon (right calf injury under management) are all fit to play. Westbrook will continue to start alongside Jokic and Murray, with a record of 14 wins and 5 losses this season, a win rate of 73.68%. The Nuggets' starting lineup for this game is Westbrook, Jokic, Jamal Murray, Braun, and Porter.
The Heat's starting lineup is Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Jimmy Butler, Hayesmith, and Adebayo. The game started with Adebayo scoring with a dunk. Here, Murray hit a three-pointer, and Herro also scored with a layup. Jokic slowly took three steps to score, and Porter also hit a three-pointer. Butler scored two points with a dunk, Murray scored with a reverse layup, and Westbrook scored five points in a row, giving the Nuggets a double-digit lead. Herro's three-pointer stopped the further widening of the point difference, Murray scored with a pull-up layup, Adebayo made a mid-range shot, Jokic scored with a hook shot, Butler also scored with a strong attack, and Westbrook hit another three-pointer. After Jokic scored with a layup, the Heat called a timeout. Jovic scored five points in a row, but Murray missed his jumper. At the end of the first quarter, the Nuggets led the Heat 30-24 by six points.
In the second quarter, Strasser hit a three-pointer, and Wei and Herro scored points through layups one after another. Gordon responded strongly by scoring six points in a row, and Jovic scored two points with a strong attack. Rozier completed a 2+1, Braun completed a dunk, and Murray scored with a layup. Hakes' three-pointer was cleanly made, and Braun scored again with a flying layup. Butler and Adebayo continued to score with dunks, Murray also scored with a fadeaway jump shot, and Braun followed with another layup. Herro and Murray engaged in a three-point shootout, and after Jovic scored with a layup, Murray immediately responded with a layup. Adebayo scored again with a dunk, and Jokic scored four points in a row. Deng Luo attempted a buzzer-beater but missed, ending the first half with the Nuggets leading the Heat 67-55 by 12 points.
In the first half, Murray scored 20 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, and had 3 assists; Jokic scored 12 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and had 4 assists; Westbrook scored 8 points and sent out 5 assists; Gordon scored 10 points and grabbed 3 rebounds; Butler scored 8 points; Herro scored 14 points and grabbed 2 rebounds; Adebayo scored 10 points and added 3 rebounds.
Changing sides for the second half, the Nuggets started with a 4-0 mini-climax. Herro responded with a three-pointer, Murray scored successfully with a breakthrough, and Butler also made a jump shot. Porter easily hit a three-pointer, Butler scored again with a layup, and Porter hit another three-pointer. After Adebayo scored with a putback, Butler successfully forced a timeout from the Nuggets with a strong drive. Herro's layup kept up with the scoring rhythm, Jokic completed a 2+1, and Deng Luo's three-pointer was also steady. After Hayesmith scored with a layup, the Nuggets called a timeout, and Braun, Jokic, and Westbrook scored in succession, quickly widening the point difference back to 16 points. Jovic scored five points in a row to stop the bleeding, Gordon performed an axe-style dunk, Jovic also scored with a strong attack, and Jokic's three-pointer steadily went in. At the end of the third quarter, the Nuggets led the Heat 98-86 by 12 points.
In the final quarter, the Nuggets launched an 11-2 offensive wave, forcing the Heat to call a timeout, with the point difference widening to 21 points at this point. Wei scored easily in the paint, and after Herro's mid-range shot went in, the Nuggets paused for a moment. Porter accurately hit a long-range three-pointer, Murray also scored with a reverse layup, Rozier's three-pointer went in steadily, and Gordon scored two points with a strong attack, bringing the point difference back to 21 points, and the outcome of the game was already decided in advance. Ultimately, the Nuggets defeated the Heat 133-113 on the road, completing a double kill against the Heat this season and maintaining a 10-game winning streak against them. The Heat suffered a three-game losing streak, and in the Eastern Conference standings, the eighth place was taken over by the Pistons, with the Heat falling to ninth place.
The Nuggets' data is as follows: Braun scored 12 points, Porter scored 14 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, Jokic scored 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists, reaching 147 career triple-doubles and continuing to refresh the third-highest record in history. Murray made 12 of 24 shots, scoring 30 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists, with a plus-minus of +16, the highest in the game. Westbrook scored 11 points and had 7 assists, Aaron Gordon scored 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists, Strasser scored 14 points, and Little Jordan scored 6 points and grabbed 2 rebounds. The Heat's data is: Butler scored 18 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists, Adebayo scored 16 points and 11 rebounds, Herro scored 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists, Jovic scored 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists, Hakes scored 9 points and grabbed 3 rebounds, and Rozier scored 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists.