Miami Heat Visit Denver Nuggets: Game 12 Preview

The Miami Heat will be visiting the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center tonight. It's the only meeting this season between the two teams. The Nuggets are 5-1 at home, the Heat boast a 5-2 road record. For the Heat, This is the final game of a five game roadtrip. They won a triple overtime affair against the Atlanta Hawks last Thursday, 116-109 before handily defeating the New Jersey Nets on Saturday, 101-90. Tuesday night, they lost to the Golden State Warriors, 111-106 in overtime. On Wednesday, they dropped their second consecutive overtime affair to the Los Angeles Clippers, 95-89. After tonight's game, they return home for a five game homestand featuring the San Antonio Spurs, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Nuggets will be playing in the third game of a four game homestand. They lost to the New Orleans Hornets, 94-81 on Monday and defeated the New Jersey Nets, 123-115 on Wednesday. After tonight's matchup, they go on to host the Utah Jazz on Sunday.

The two teams last met on March 19, 2011. Miami posted a 103-98 victory that night, as LeBron James led the Heat with 33 points. Dwyane Wade tossed in 32 and Chris Bosh added 18 points, 11 boards and six assists for Miami. J.R. Smith led the Nuggets off the bench with 27 points

Denver vs Miami NBA Highlights 03/19/11 (via bballfansite)

Miami dropped a 95-89 overtime decision late Wednesday night to the Los Angeles Clippers. LeBron James led four Miami players in double figures with 23 points and 13 rebounds. Chris Bosh added 16 points and 11 boards. Chris Paul led the Clippers with 27 points and 11 rebounds, while Caron Butler and Blake Griffin both chipped in 20. DeAndre Jordan blocked six shots for Los Angeles.

Miami Heat vs LA Clippers (LOB CITY) [1.11.2012] (via CakesBerry)

The Nuggets defeated the New Jersey Nets, 123-115 on Wednesday night. Danilo Gallinari led six Nuggets in double figures with 22 points, Andre Miller chipped in a dozen dozen with 12 points and 12 assists. Jordan Farmar scored 26 off the bench to pace the Nets.

Nets vs Nuggets 1/11/12 Highlights (via phillykid330)

Game Time: 10:30 EST

Season Series: 0-0

All-Time Series: 25-24

Standings:

Miami Heat: 8-3, first in the Southeast Division, second in the Eastern Conference, third in the NBA.

Denver Nuggets: 7-4, third in the Northwest Division, fifth in the Western Conference, tied for ninth in the NBA.

Starting Lineups:

Miami Heat:

PG - Mario Chalmers

SG - Dwyane Wade

SF - LeBron James

PF - Chris Bosh

C - Joel Anthony

Denver Nuggets:

PG - Andre Miller

SG - Arron Afflalo

SF - Danilo Gallinari

PF - Nene

C - Timofey Mozgov

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Common Thread:

Heat forward Juwan Howard played 108 games over three seasons for Denver, scoring 18 points, grabbing eight rebounds, and dishing out three assists per night in an average of 35 minutes per game.

Team Milestones:

James Jones needs three more 3-pointers to pass Jamal Mashburn into 14th with 211.

Chris Bosh needs seven more free throws to pass John Salley into 20th, with 433.

With four more assists, Udonis Haslem will pass Rony Seikaly, with 574. Five more blocks will put him in 11th with 185, passing Brian Grant.

Team Leaders:

PPG:

LeBron James, 29.0

Dwyane Wade, 20.5

Chris Bosh, 19.4

RPG:

Udonis Haslem, 10.1

LeBron James, 8.5

Chris Bosh, 8.1

APG:

LeBron James, 7.5

Dwyane Wade, 5.4

Mario Chalmers, 4.5

SPG: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, 2.0

Mario Chalmers, 1.8

BPG:

Dwyane Wade, 1.9

Chris Bosh, 1.0

Shane Battier, 0.8