Jamal Murray scored 21 points, Will Barton had 15 points and 10 rebounds in his return to the lineup, and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat 109-89 on Tuesday night.

Jerami Grant also scored 15, Monte Morris added 11 and Paul Millsap and Mason Plumlee had 10 apiece for the Nuggets, who won their second game in a row. Barton was back after missing two games due to a toe ailment.

Jimmy Butler led Miami with 16 points. Kelly Olynyk had 13, Kendrick Nunn 11 and Justise Winslow and Meyers Leonard had 10 each for the Heat, whose three-game winning streak ended.

Denver won without Millsap and Gary Harris for most of the second half. Harris came up limping after a floater late in the second quarter and walked gingerly to the locker room. He was ruled out for the second half due to a left ankle injury.

Early in the third quarter, Millsap was bumped by Leonard as he drove to the lane, and Millsap knocked heads with Winslow, opening a cut on his forehead. He got it wrapped, came back and hit his free throws but then went to the locker room. He wasn't officially ruled out but did not return to the game.

Leonard was assessed a flagrant-1 foul.

The Heat led 43-40 after Butler hit a layup with 6:33 left in the second quarter but then went cold, and Denver led 58-48 at the break.

Miami started the second half with a Nunn 3-pointer, but Denver then outscored the Heat 12-3 to lead by 16 midway through the third quarter. The Heat missed 10 of 11 shots and three free throws in that stretch.

Butler sank two free throws but Plumlee had a dunk and Barton drained a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to put the Nuggets up 75-66 with 4:51 left.

Malik Beasley and Grant hit 3-pointers to help Denver build a 22-point lead late in the quarter. After five straight points by Miami, Morris converted a three-point play to give the Nuggets an 89-69 edge heading into the fourth.

Denver then scored the first six points of the final period to lead 95-69 and closed it out from there.

--Field Level Media