DENVER _ The thought at the outset was this was unsustainable, the Miami Heat opening 10 of 11 from the field Friday night against the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center, converting seven first-period 3-pointers, moving to a quick nine-point lead.
The hints of a reversal of fortune certainly were there, with Hassan Whiteside without a first-half rebound, the Heat without a first-half free throw, the Heat instead falling to a nine-point deficit of their own in the fourth quarter.
And yet, though it all, the game was there for the taking _ until James Johnson fouled Nuggets forward Paul Millsap on a 3-point attempt with the Heat up two with 11.8 seconds to play.
With Millsap making all three foul shots, Denver escaped with the 95-94 victory.
The Heat's final opportunity came down to a missed Dion Waiters jumper that rimmed out just before the final buzzer.
Goran Dragic led the Heat with 22 points, with Millsap closing with 27.
With Whiteside limited in his second game back after missing five with a bone bruise on his left knee the Nuggets seized control when needed.
Whiteside finished with 13 points and three rebounds in 24 minutes, not nearly enough on a night the Heat committed 22 turnovers.
Even with Johnson available after missing Wednesday's victory over the Chicago Bulls due to tendinitis in his right knee, coach Erik Spoelstra elected to stay with Okaro White in the starting lineup for the second consecutive game.
It was the second time Johnson has played as a reserve this season, also doing so in the season-opening loss to the Orlando Magic, when Kelly Olynyk opened at power forward alongside Whiteside.
A 3-pointer by Johnson with 4:38 left drew the Heat within 87-81, after the Heat had committed turnovers on their previous two possessions to reach 22.
Waiters later stepped up with a 3-pointer that drew the Heat within 89-86, with a Dragic alley-oop to Whiteside drawing the Heat within 89-88.
And then, in transition, Josh Richardson, who had stood at 1 of 6 from the field to that stage converted a 3-pointer with 2:11 left for a 91-89 lead.
Long-time Heat nemesis Millsap then worked his way to the line with 1:48 left, making only the second of the two free throws, to draw Denver within 91-90.
A jump ball ensued after an uneven Heat possession, with Whiteside losing the tip.
After two Denver misses, the Heat were called for a kick ball, leaving Denver in possession, with Gary Harris scoring a contested floater in the lane with 47.3 seconds left for a 92-91 Denver lead.
That's when Waiters attacked the rim with 30.9 seconds left for a driving layup to put the Heat ahead, 93-92.
The Nuggets then went to Millsap who missed a contested jumper on a play that resulted in Johnson's fifth foul. Millsap then missed both free throws, dropping Denver to 11 of 22 from the line.
Denver then was forced to send Dragic to the line with 23.4 seconds to play. Dragic made only the second of his two foul shots for a 94-92 Heat lead.
Without a timeout, the Nuggets got the ball to Millsap, who drew a three-shot foul on Johnson, Johnson's six and final foul.
At 5 of 9 from the line to that point, Millsap made all three for a 95-94 Denver lea with 11.8 seconds to play.
The Nuggets did not take their first lead until going up 65-63 with 5:36 left in the third period, moving to a 76-71 lead going into the fourth quarter, with Dragic and Johnson the lone Heat players with double-digit points to that stage.
Whiteside was forced to the bench with his third foul with 3:31 left in the second period, leading to Bam Adebayo's first appearance of the night. It left Whiteside without a rebound in his 10 first-half minutes.
The Heat went into the intermission up 58-51, with Dragic up to 18 points at that stage, on 7-of-8 shooting, including 4 for 4 on 3-pointers.
The Heat shot 10 of 20 on 3-pointers in the first half but were held back by the 12 turnovers over the opening two periods and defense that allowed Denver to shoot .525 from the field.
The Heat opened 10 of 11 before Johnson entered and air-balled a 3-pointer. Johnson entered alongside Olynyk and Tyler Johnson. The Heat closed the period 15 of 19 from the field and 7 of 10 on 3-poitners to take a 37-28 lead into the second.
Dragic was 4 of 4 in the first quarter for 10 points.
This was the first game of a two-game season series that concludes March 19 at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The teams split the two-game series last season, with the Heat sweeping in 2015-16.
The Heat entered having won four of their previous five visits to the Pepsi Center, including their previous two.
