NORMAN Powell tallied 25 points as the Miami Heat broke the game open after halftime to beat the Denver Nuggets 147-123 on Monday night (Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, PH time) in a contest overshadowed by a knee injury to Denver superstar Nikola Jokic.
According to the Associated Press, the teams were tied 63-all at halftime when Jokic was injured with about three seconds remaining in the second quarter. Miami then erupted for 47 points in the third quarter to seize control.
Nikola Jovic finished with 22 points, Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 20 and Bam Adebayo returned from a two-game absence to pull down 10 rebounds for the Heat.
Miami entered the night having lost 15 of its last 16 games against Denver, including a five-game defeat to the Nuggets in the 2023 NBA Finals.
Denver had also won the previous 11 regular-season meetings between the teams and had not lost in Miami since 2018.
Jokic did not return after halftime and was evaluated in the locker room area. He still led the Nuggets with 21 points, along with eight assists and five rebounds. Jamal Murray scored 20 points for Denver, while Spencer Jones and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 16 apiece.
The injury occurred when Jokic stepped toward the basket to help defend a drive by Jaquez as time expired in the second quarter. While backpedaling, Jones stepped on Jokic’s left foot, causing the center’s knee to buckle. Jokic collapsed to the floor, clutching his knee in visible pain.
The Heat topped the 140-point mark for the eighth time in the 2025 calendar year. From the franchise’s inception in 1988 through 2024, Miami had reached that mark just seven times combined.
T-Wolves 136, Bulls 101
Naz Reid poured in a season-high 33 points off the bench and Anthony Edwards added 23 as the Minnesota Timberwolves rolled past the Chicago Bulls 136-101 after Chicago lost its top two scorers to injuries, the AP reported.
Julius Randle finished with 17 points as Minnesota broke the game open in the third quarter to open a four-game road trip. Donte DiVincenzo and Bones Hyland chipped in 12 points apiece as the Timberwolves shot 53.7 percent from the field after a slow start.
Nikola Vucevic led Chicago with 23 points, but the short-handed Bulls couldn’t keep up, dropping their second straight game after a five-game winning streak had brought them back to .500. Chicago shot just 40.9 percent and committed 16 turnovers, compared to only three for Minnesota.
Bulls leading scorer Coby White exited in the first quarter with a right calf strain, while Josh Giddey, Chicago’s second-leading scorer, left early in the second half with an apparent left hamstring injury after scoring 11 points.
White, who was averaging 20.5 points, had missed the first 11 games of the season with a similar calf issue. Giddey entered the night averaging 19.5 points, 9.2 assists and 9.1 rebounds and ranked second in the NBA with seven triple-doubles.
Before the game, Bulls coach Billy Donovan said Zach Collins is expected to miss several games due to a sprained right big toe.
Minnesota’s Mike Conley appeared in his 1,200th career game.
Elsewhere in the NBA, Phoenix beat Washington 115-101, Milwaukee won 123-113 at Charlotte, the Toronto Raptors nipped the Orlando Magic 107-106, Golden State topped Brooklyn 120-107, Houston Rockets defeated Indiana Pacers 126-119, New York edged New Orleans 130-125, Cleveland beat San Antonio 113-101, Oklahoma City Thunder downed Atlanta Hawks 140-129 and the Portland Trail Blazers outlasted the Dallas Mavericks 125-122. / LBG