source: abs-cbnnews.com
Two-time reigning NBA Player of the Year LeBron James scored 33 points and Dwyane Wade added 32 as the Miami Heat never trailed in defeating the Denver Nuggets 103-98 on Saturday (Sunday, in Manila).
But Miami's joy in winning was tempered by the loss of starting point guard Mario Chalmers, who suffered a sprained right knee in the final seconds of the first quarter and was carried off the court.
Chalmers was guarding Denver's Ty Lawson when he fell backward, tried to recover from the stumble and his right knee struck the outstretched right leg of Lawson as the Nuggets playmaker made a jump shot.
Doctors will examine Chalmers again on Sunday but if he is unable to continue his two-month run of 27 starts in a row, it would be a major setback for Miami.
"You just want to know," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "The unknown is probably worse than anything. And it was like getting hit in the face. But we gathered and I was glad to see our maturity from that point on.
"We continued to grind the game. It wasn't necessarily a pretty game going down the stretch, but we made enough plays."
The Heat, who at 48-22 rank third in the Eastern Conference, are in the fight for playoff seeding and home-field advantage despite a season of nagging pains for nearly everyone at one time or another.
"Injuries have just figured out a way to bite us, seems at the wrong times," James said. "It happened again tonight. Hopefully it's not a huge thing."
Miami's Chris Bosh added 18 points and 11 rebounds while Mike Bibby, the likely replacement for Chalmers should he be out for any length of time, contributed 14 points.
"Mike fits right in. He's a guy who's great when he gets the ball," Wade said. "He's a veteran guy who's very smart. He's going to be big for us in the playoffs."
Injury setbacks slowed the blending of James and Bosh, highly touted Miami newcomers, with Wade and the Heat holdovers, but the journey has been the destination in many ways, Bosh said.
"A lot of ups and downs, but I think it's been good for this team," Bosh said. "After the smoke cleared, I think we're better."
Denver, which fell to 41-29, was led by 27 points from J.R. Smith and 23 by Italian playmaker Danilo Gallinari, with Lawson adding 16 points, Wilson Chandler scoring 12 and Brazil's Nene contributing 10.
The Nuggets twice pulled within four points of Miami in the fourth quarter but the Heat answered with a 10-0 run to seal the victory, James contributing a dunk and two free throws and Wade sinking a 3-pointer in the spurt.
"We were trying to search for our personality rather than knowing our personality," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "When you are playing a team and their best players are having great games, you are just searching for too many answers."
source: abs-cbnnews.com
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