Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 112-108 loss to the Denver Nuggets (40-18) on Monday night at Miami-Dade Arena. The Heat (32-26) now travels to face the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday before heading into the All-Star break:
— In a battle between Denver’s elite offense and Miami’s elite defense, the Nuggets’ offense won and that proved to be the difference in the game.
The Nuggets, which entered with the NBA’s second-best offensive rating and the top record in the Western Conference, totaled 112 points points on an ultra efficient 57.9 percent shooting from the field, 11-of-28 (39.3 percent) shooting from three-point range and 13-of-15 (86.7 percent) shooting from the foul line while committing just 13 turnovers. It was an uncharacteristic outing for the Heat, which entered with the league’s fifth-best defensive rating.
