Bam Adebayo led the Heat with 17 points, 13 rebounds, and three assists as Jimmy Butler had 15, Terry Rozier had 14, and Duncan Robinson had 11. For the Nuggets, Michael Porter Jr. led with 25 points, Aaron Gordon had 16, Jamal Murray had 14, and Nikola Jokic had 12 points, 14 rebonds, and six assists.

Here is a look each half and three takeaways as the Heat lost to the dominant Nuggets:

Sluggish first half

The first quarter was a slog for Miami as Denver led by 13 at one point in the period, though the home team would find some life at the very end to bring the deficit to seven. It was a mix of the Nuggets’ size getting to the Heat, but also a rough start from the field as they made nine of their 24 attempts from the field including only making one of six shots from three-point range.

Denver on the other hand wasn’t too explosive with 26 points, but could easily turn it on. Miami has to play cleaner basketball throughout the rest of the game and make their opportunities as they started with three turnovers that led to seven points on the other end.

The second quarter saw a little more balance to the Heat’s offense as they scored 25 in the period compared to the 19 scored prior. They would make this a close game throughout the 12 minutes, but still trailed by six points at halftime as Denver contained control of the game.

There is little room for error for Miami when facing a team like the Nuggets, so they will need to play to their strengths in the second half. It would also help if they shot from three better as through the first 24 minutes, they’ve only made one of their eight attempts from that range.

What Miami should focus on is containing Jokic as he only has eight points to go with seven rebounds and two assists. There will probably be an uptick in production from him.

Exciting start comes to a screeching halt

The Heat had their best period so far in the third as they came back and took back the lead after a 7-0 run in the beginning. They started the quarter making their first three shots from deep as they only made just one in the whole first half.

Miami scored 27 in the quarter and held Denver to 22 in the third as it was an impressive showing for Adebayo. While he has been slumping as of recent, he has bounced back in the perfect game as by the end of the period, he led the team with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and played great defense the whole night, especially on a superstar like Jokic.

Still, they entered the fourth quarter with a one-point lead. One would hope the Heat kept up the energy from an exciting third period, but spoiler alert, they did not. The Heat lost all the energy they had where on the other side, Denver never stopped letting their foot off the gas, leading the Nuggets to control and ultimately win the game.

Heat with little room for error with 17 games left of season

As mentioned before, the Heat now have a four-game losing skid and carry that now into a four-game road trip. Even though the first two on that trip are against the Detroit Pistons who are tied with the least amount of wins in the NBA with 11, Miami has bene prone to tough games against them.

Plus, they lost to the Washington Wizards last Sunday who are the other team that is tied with the Pistons for the least amount of victories, so anything is on the table. However, the sense of urgency should be at an all-time high for this season as there are 17 games left after the loss to the Nuggets.

After two straight against the Pistons on the road, they then face two tough Eastern Conference teams in the Philadelphia 76ers and the Cleveland Cavaliers. It doesn’t get any easier for Miami and if they want to replicate the magic from last season in the post-season, they have to turn it around as soon as possible.