The Miami Heat were whole. The Denver Nuggets were lacking 60% of their starting lineup. So Erik Spoelstra's team seized the moment Saturday during the NBA's quarantined restart at Disney World.
Moving within 1 { games of the Boston Celtics for the No. 3 playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, the Heat opened their eight-game seeding schedule at the Wide World of Sports complex with a 125-105 victory over the injury ravaged Nuggets.
"I think our guys really wanted to compete and play well," Spoelstra said, with this the Heat's first regular-season game since the March 11 shutdown due to the new coronavirus pandemic.
With the game's All-Star centers essentially playing to a standoff, the Heat got greater support for Bam Adebayo than the Nuggets did for Nikola Jokic.
Adebayo closed with 22 points, nine rebounds and six assists, supported by 22 points from Jimmy Butler, 17 from Duncan Robinson, 13 from Goran Dragic, 11 from Kendrick Nunn and 20 from Kelly Olynyk, all in the fourth quarter. Butler added seven assists, four rebounds and three steals, closing 10 of 11 from the line.
Olynyk became the first Heat player to score at least 20 points in a fourth quarter since Dwyane Wade in February 2009.
Jokic finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
"I just wanted to make my presence felt," Adebayo said.
Down one at halftime, the Heat regained control with a 29-8 third-quarter run.
To Spoelstra, it was a special moment in the unique setting, a game played in the absence of fans.
"This really is historic, that we have an opportunity to continue our season and then continue in the playoffs and have an opportunity to compete for a title," he said of the NBA's bubble type of setting amid the new coronavirus pandemic. "This is a totally different world that we're living in right now, and none of us take it for granted."
The Heat went up eight early, before taking a 28-26 lead into the second quarter, then falling behind 57-56 at halftime. Attrition then began to take a toll on the Nuggets, with the Heat moving to a 94-79 lead entering the fourth.
"They were in attack mode and had us on our heels," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.
