Norman Powell and the Heat offense explode in the second half in the win over the Nuggets, as Miami earns their third consecutive victory.
(Photo via Miami Heat/X)

The early season elite Miami Heat offense is showing signs of life once again, as Miami cruises to a 147-123 win over the Denver Nuggets at home.

#HEATWin Final: HEAT 147, Nuggets 123

🔥 Powell: 25pts, 4asts
🔥 Jović: 22pts, 5asts
🔥 Jaquez Jr.: 20pts, 11asts
🔥 Wiggins: 19pts, 5rebs, 6asts, 3stls, 3blks
🔥 Ware: 19pts, 9rebs
🔥 Adebayo: 13pts, 10rebs, 4asts
🔥 Smith: 11pts, 2stls
🔥 Mitchell: 10pts, 9asts pic.twitter.com/gYU16QqVo9

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) December 30, 2025

It was the seventh game this season of scoring 140+ points and second in a row. Their 84 second half points was also good for a new franchise record. All of a sudden, the Heat offense is back in business.

The win snapped an 11-game regular season losing streak to Denver, and just their first since the 2020 bubble. Miami improves to 18-15 on the season and climb up to the East’s sixth seed. For the Nuggets, they will drop to 22-10 but have a much bigger problem on their hands after Nikola Jokic had to leave the game before halftime after hyperextending his knee. Jokic was putting on an offensive clinic with 21 points in 19 minutes before the injury.

Instead, Jokic’s absence carved a way for the Heat to take advantage and close it out. They did that and then some.

Miami had eight of their nine rotation players score in double digits. Norman Powell led the Heat with 25 points on an efficient 9 of 16 shooting. Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Niko Jovic combined for 42 points off the bench on 15 of 23 overall. It was the second straight encouraging Jovic performance, as the Slovenian forward has looked like he’s getting confidence back since returning from injury last week.

Kel’el Ware and Andrew Wiggins also laid their imprints on the win. Ware put up an impactful 19 points and 9 boards on 8 of 12 in just 24 minutes as the starting big man alongside Bam Adebayo.

Wiggins put up a two-way masterclass in which he did a little bit of everything. The veteran wing posted a loaded statline of 19 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, three blocks and three steals on 60% from the field. Miami outscored Denver by 28 points in Wiggins’ minutes— the best plus/minus between both teams on the night.

As a team, the Heat shot a sizzling 54% overall and 48% from 3-point range. They held Denver to 35% from deep and took care of the rebounding battle 46-36.

The Heat’s next game will be a New Years Day battle between the best of the East in Detroit, where Miami will aim to extend to a four-game win in streak and earn another statement win amidst their recent success.

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