Rookies Shine as Heat Top Nuggets

Two rookies showed Monday night that the future is looking hot for the Miami Heat.

Lead by  Justice Winslow and Josh Richardson, the Heat beat the Denver Nuggets 124-119 to bounce back after losing to the Toronto Raptors in overtime March 12th. Winslow scored 20 points shooting 61.5 percent from the field and Richardson added 17.

The veterans came out to play for the Heat as well.

Dwayne Wade scored 19 and the newest member of the Miami Heat, Joe Johnson, added 18. Wade played 31 minutes after speculation earlier in the week that he wouldn’t play because of a bruised thigh. The bruised thigh kept him out of the loss at the Raptors.

Three more Heat members scored double-digits, including 18 (12 points in the fourth quarter) from Hassan Whiteside who had 10 rebounds,  17 from Loul Deng with eight rebounds, and 11 from Goran Dragic, who dished out eight assists.

Johnson said its the versatility of the Heat that keeps its opponents guessing. 

With all the offensive production from the Heat, the Nuggets had to convert some buckets as well to keep it close.

Denver forward Kenneth Faried was a perfect 11-11 from the field and went 2-3 at the line to score 24 points for the Nuggets. Rookie Emmanuel Mudiay  shot nearly 50-percent from the field scoring 24 while also adding 10 assists to the stat sheet.  Four other Nuggets scored in double digits.

Denver had a chance to tie the game late, but Miami’s defense held tight. With the win, the Heat pull within a half-game of Boston for third in the Eastern Conference.

The Heat will hope to move past Boston Thursday when they host the Charlotte Hornets. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.