MIAMI (AP) — Norman Powell scored 25 points and the Miami Heat pulled away in the second half to beat Denver 147-123 in a game where the Nuggets saw superstar Nikola Jokic limp off the court with a knee injury.
The teams were tied at 63 at halftime, with Jokic getting hurt with about three seconds left before the intermission. Miami then scored 47 third-quarter points to take full control.
Nikola Jovic scored 22 points, Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 20 and Bam Adebayo returned from a two-game absence to grab 10 rebounds for the Heat, who had gone 1-15 in their last 16 games against Denver — the one win coming in five-game defeat to the Nuggets in the 2023 NBA Finals.
Denver had also won the last 11 regular-season matchups between the clubs and hadn’t lost a game in Miami since 2018.
But everything changed after halftime, with Jokic remaining in the locker room areas for evaluation.
Jokic still led the Nuggets in scoring with 21 points, along with eight assists and five rebounds. Jamal Murray scored 20 for Denver and Spencer Jones — who stepped on Jokic’s left foot on the play where the three-time MVP was injured — scored 16 for the Nuggets, as did Tim Hardaway Jr.
Jokic was alone under the basket and appeared to step forward to help Denver’s Spencer Jones defend a drive by Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. as time was about to expire in the second quarter. While backtracking, Jones stepped on Jokic’s left foot and it seemed the center’s knee buckled.
Jokic collapsed to the court, grabbing at the knee and writhing in pain.
The Heat topped the 140-point mark for the eighth time in the 2025 calendar year. Miami had seven such games from its inception in 1988 through 2024, combined.
Up next
Nuggets: At Toronto on Wednesday night.
Heat: At Detroit on Thursday night.