MIAMI -- — Jamal Murray scored 30 points, Nikola Jokic extended his NBA lead with his 17th triple-double of the season and the Denver Nuggets spoiled Jimmy Butler's return by beating the Miami Heat 133-113 on Friday night.

Jokic finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Aaron Gordon added 16 for Denver.

Tyler Herro scored 22 points for Miami, while Butler had 18 in his first game back from a seven-game suspension. Bam Adebayo finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Nikola Jovic scored 16 points for the Heat.

Takeaways

Nuggets: Denver hit the midway point of the season at 25-16, putting the Nuggets on pace to win at least 60% of their games for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. Prior to this stretch, the Nuggets finished at .600 or better only six times in their previous 31 seasons.

Heat: Miami has dropped three in a row at home — its longest such streak of the season — and all were by double digits: a 13-point loss to Indiana on Jan. 2, a 36-point loss to Utah two nights later and now this loss by 20.

Key moment

Jokic made a 3-pointer with four seconds left in the third quarter, pushing Denver's lead out to 12. Otherwise, Miami would have been within nine and with the ball to open the fourth quarter. But Jokic's 3 started an 14-2 run that put the game basically out of Miami's reach.

Key stat

Including a pair of triple-doubles in NBA Finals games, Jokic has eight triple-doubles against Miami. The Nuggets are 8-0 in those games.

Up Next

Denver finishes its two-game trip Sunday in Orlando, while Miami remains home Sunday to face Victor Wembanyama and San Antonio.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Nikola Jokic vs. Bam Adebayo (Tyler Herro gains possession)	0	0
11:37	Jimmy Butler misses 9-foot two point shot	0	0
11:33	Nuggets defensive team rebound	0	0
11:13	Jamal Murray misses 25-foot three point jumper	0	0
11:13	Nuggets offensive team rebound	0	0
10:59	Michael Porter Jr. misses 21-foot step back jumpshot	0	0
10:56	Bam Adebayo defensive rebound	0	0
10:43	Bam Adebayo makes 1-foot dunk (Duncan Robinson assists)	2	0
10:22	Jamal Murray makes 22-foot three point jumper (Nikola Jokic assists)	2	3
10:13	Tyler Herro makes 9-foot driving floating jump shot	4	3
9:49	Haywood Highsmith shooting foul	4	3
9:49	Jamal Murray makes free throw 1 of 2	4	4
9:49	Jamal Murray makes free throw 2 of 2	4	5
9:35	Bam Adebayo misses driving floating jump shot	4	5
9:32	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	4	5
9:20	Jamal Murray misses 19-foot step back jumpshot	4	5
9:17	Tyler Herro defensive rebound	4	5
8:59	Bam Adebayo misses 23-foot three point jumper	4	5
8:56	Jamal Murray defensive rebound	4	5
8:51	Nikola Jokic makes two point shot (Russell Westbrook assists)	4	7
8:38	Tyler Herro misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	4	7
8:34	Jamal Murray defensive rebound	4	7
8:31	Michael Porter Jr. makes 26-foot three point shot (Jamal Murray assists)	4	10
8:09	Jimmy Butler makes dunk (Duncan Robinson assists)	6	10
7:56	Jamal Murray makes two point shot (Nikola Jokic assists)	6	12
7:40	Tyler Herro out of bounds lost ball turnover	6	12
7:32	Christian Braun makes 2-foot dunk (Russell Westbrook assists)	6	14
7:11	Tyler Herro makes 1-foot two point shot	8	14
7:10	Nikola Jokic out of bounds lost ball turnover	8	14
6:46	Haywood Highsmith misses 23-foot three point jumper	8	14
6:42	Michael Porter Jr. defensive rebound	8	14
6:36	Christian Braun misses 23-foot pullup jump shot	8	14
6:33	Michael Porter Jr. offensive rebound	8	14
6:32	Michael Porter Jr. misses two point shot	8	14
6:29	Nikola Jokic offensive rebound	8	14
6:29	Russell Westbrook makes 24-foot three point jumper (Nikola Jokic assists)	8	17
6:29	Heat Full timeout	8	17
6:29	Nikola Jovic enters the game for Haywood Highsmith	8	17
6:16	Jimmy Butler misses 12-foot pullup jump shot	8	17
6:12	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	8	17
6:03	Russell Westbrook makes driving layup	8	19
5:44	Tyler Herro makes 27-foot three pointer (Duncan Robinson assists)	11	19
5:22	Jamal Murray makes 3-foot two point shot (Nikola Jokic assists)	11	21
5:10	Bam Adebayo makes 10-foot pullup jump shot	13	21
4:52	Jamal Murray misses driving layup	13	21
4:49	Nikola Jovic defensive rebound	13	21
4:49	Nikola Jovic out of bounds bad pass turnover	13	21
4:49	Jaime Jaquez Jr. enters the game for Tyler Herro	13	21
4:49	Julian Strawther enters the game for Jamal Murray	13	21
4:38	Russell Westbrook misses driving layup	13	21
4:36	Bam Adebayo defensive rebound	13	21
4:33	Julian Strawther shooting foul	13	21
4:33	Bam Adebayo makes free throw 1 of 2	14	21
4:33	Aaron Gordon enters the game for Christian Braun	14	21
4:33	Peyton Watson enters the game for Michael Porter Jr.	14	21
4:33	Bam Adebayo makes free throw 2 of 2	15	21
4:18	Julian Strawther misses 25-foot three point jumper	15	21
4:15	Duncan Robinson defensive rebound	15	21
4:02	Jaime Jaquez Jr. makes 11-foot driving floating jump shot (Nikola Jovic assists)	17	21
3:41	Nikola Jokic makes 5-foot two point shot (Russell Westbrook assists)	17	23
3:23	Jimmy Butler makes 2-foot driving floating jump shot (Duncan Robinson assists)	19	23
3:12	Aaron Gordon out of bounds bad pass turnover	19	23
2:55	Duncan Robinson misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	19	23
2:50	Julian Strawther defensive rebound	19	23
2:38	Nikola Jokic makes layup (Russell Westbrook assists)	19	25
2:19	Bam Adebayo misses alley oop layup	19	25
2:17	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	19	25
2:13	Russell Westbrook misses 22-foot three point shot	19	25
2:10	Nikola Jokic offensive rebound	19	25
2:07	Aaron Gordon misses 23-foot three point jumper	19	25
2:04	Bam Adebayo defensive rebound	19	25
2:00	Nikola Jovic misses running pullup jump shot	19	25
2:00	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	19	25
1:48	Russell Westbrook makes 22-foot three point jumper (Nikola Jokic assists)	19	28
1:40	Nikola Jovic lost ball turnover (Peyton Watson steals)	19	28
1:35	Peyton Watson misses driving layup	19	28
1:29	Nikola Jovic defensive rebound	19	28
1:25	Jimmy Butler misses 25-foot three point jumper	19	28
1:22	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	19	28
1:17	Nikola Jokic makes two point shot (Peyton Watson assists)	19	30
1:16	Heat Full timeout	19	30
1:16	Terry Rozier enters the game for Bam Adebayo	19	30
1:16	Kel'el Ware enters the game for Jimmy Butler	19	30
1:16	Tyler Herro enters the game for Duncan Robinson	19	30
1:16	Jamal Murray enters the game for Russell Westbrook	19	30
1:02	Nikola Jovic misses 5-foot two point shot	19	30
1:00	Jamal Murray defensive rebound	19	30
45.1	Aaron Gordon misses 23-foot three point jumper	19	30
42.0	Tyler Herro defensive rebound	19	30
37.0	Nikola Jovic makes 24-foot three point shot (Tyler Herro assists)	22	30
30.0	Nikola Jokic misses 25-foot three point jumper	22	30
27.0	Terry Rozier defensive rebound	22	30
14.0	Nikola Jovic makes driving layup	24	30
0.0	Jamal Murray misses 13-foot pullup jump shot	24	30
0.0	Terry Rozier defensive rebound	24	30
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	24	30

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

Kaseya Center

Miami, FL

Date & Time

1:00 AM, January 18, 2025

Coverage

NBA League Pass, FanDuel SN Sun, Altitude Sports, KTVD-TV (My20)

Attendance

19,828

Referees

Scott Foster, Ray Acosta, Intae Hwang

2025-26 Northwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Oklahoma City	46	15	.754	W1
Denver	37	23	.617	L1
Minnesota	37	23	.617	W2
Portland	29	32	.475	L1
Utah	18	42	.300	L5

2025-26 Southeast Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Orlando	31	27	.534	L1
Miami	32	29	.525	W1
Charlotte	30	31	.492	W4
Atlanta	30	31	.492	W3
Washington	16	43	.271	L4

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Murray scores 30 points, Jokic has another triple-double to help Nuggets roll past Butler and Heat

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