Murray scores 30 points, Jokic posts another triple-double to help Nuggets past Butler and Heat

MIAMI (AP) — Jamal Murray scored 30 points, Nikola Jokic extended his NBA lead with his 17th triple-double of the season and the Denver Nuggets spoiled Jimmy Butler’s return by beating the Miami Heat 133-113 on Friday night .

Jokic finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Aaron Gordon added 16 for Denver.

Tyler Herro scored 22 points for Miami, while Butler had 18 in his first game back from a seven-game suspension. Bam Adebayo finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Nikola Jovic scored 16 points for the Heat.

Takeaways

Nuggets: Denver reached the midpoint of the season at 25-16, allowing the Nuggets to win at least 60% of their games for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. Before this streak, the Nuggets had finished .600 or better just six times in their previous 31 seasons.

Heat: Miami has lost three straight at home — its longest streak of the season — and all of them were by double digits: a 13-point loss to Indiana on Jan. 2, a 36-point loss to Utah two nights later and now this loss of 20.

Key moment

Jokic made a 3-pointer with four seconds left in the third quarter, pushing Denver’s lead to 12. Otherwise, Miami would have been up nine and with the ball to open the fourth quarter. But Jokic’s 3 started a 14-2 run that put the game out of Miami’s reach.

Key statistic

Including two triple-doubles in the NBA Finals games, Jokic has eight triple-doubles against Miami. The Nuggets are 8-0 in these games.

Following

Denver finishes its two-game trip Sunday in Orlando, while Miami remains at home Sunday to face Victor Wembanyama and San Antonio.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba