DENVER -- Painful last-second losses kept the Denver Nuggets out of the playoffs last season. Faced with another one Friday night, they turned to their veteran, who delivered on his second chance to be the hero.

Paul Millsap hit three free throws with 11.8 seconds left after missing a pair 15 seconds earlier to help the Nuggets beat the Miami Heat 95-94.

Millsap finished with a season-high 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds in a game that came down to the last shot.

"These are the games we would have lost last year and we didn't," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. "Paul Millsap stepped up and all of our other guys made enough plays."

Nikola Jokic had 19 points and 14 rebounds as Denver withstood a hot start and finish by Miami to win for the fourth time in five games. They had to survive a last-second 23-footer by Dion Waiters to celebrate.

"I saw that ball going in," Jokic said. "Last year we lost a bunch of times like this and I saw it went in and out and I said, 'Yes!'"

Goran Dragic led Miami with 23 points to tie a season high and James Johnson and Waiters had 15 points each for the Heat (3-5). Hassan Whiteside had 13 points in 24 minutes in his second game back after missing five games with a left knee bone bruise.

"You feel the emotions right now," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Everybody is disappointed when you have an opportunity to win on the road like that."

The Nuggets (5-4) seemed to have control in the fourth before Miami, which hit 15 of 19 shots in the first quarter, got hot again. The Heat made just 14 shots from the start of the second until midway through the fourth, then hit six straight.

Trailing 87-78, Miami went on a 13-2 run. The Heat hit three 3-pointers and got an alley-oop from Dragic to Whiteside to take a 91-89 lead with 2:11 left.

Millsap split a pair of free throws and after a Miami turnover, Gary Harris hit an 11-footer in the lane to give Denver a 92-91 lead with 47.3 seconds left.

Waiters hit a layup to put Miami back on top with 30.9 seconds remaining and Millsap missed two free throws with 26 seconds left. The Nuggets fouled Dragic, who made one of two free throws, and Millsap was fouled on a 3-point attempt. He drained all three foul shots to put Denver ahead 95-94.

Millsap said he forgot about the missed free throws when he stepped to the line with 11.8 seconds left.

"I've missed some game-winners, missed some free throws down the stretch," Millsap said. "The main thing over the years I've learned is never drop your head, never get down on yourself. I was able to get Johnson up in the air and draw the foul."

Miami called a timeout and Waiter's long jumper rimmed out at the buzzer.

"That last play of the game I was going to attack and then when I was going to attack, right before I'm trying to get to my spot or whatever, I lost (the ball) so I had to kick it to (Josh Richardson) and tried to get it back," Waiters said. "By the time I did all that, it was like five (seconds left). So I just had to get a shot off. And it went in and out.

"The whole night everybody had no clean feel for the ball. It was so slippery. I don't like their basketballs here."

Miami shot 78.9 percent in the first quarter but cooled off a little in the second quarter but still led 58-51 at halftime.

Miami went cold in the third when the Nuggets took their first lead on Jokic's 8-foot baseline jumper with 5:54 left.

Millsap scored 10 points in the period to help stretch the lead to 76-71. Miami, which shot 64.9 percent in the first half, was 3 of 17 from the field in the third quarter and committed six turnovers.

NOTES: The Nuggets were 14 of 25 from the line. ... The Heat didn't attempt a free throw until there was 10:58 left in the third quarter. ... Denver allowed 77 points over two quarters -- Toronto's 40 in the fourth quarter Wednesday and Miami's 37 in the first. ... Friday's game was the start of a six-game road trip for the Heat. They played six of their first seven at home before heading to Denver. ... The Nuggets play the Warriors at home on Saturday night. The last time Denver played home games on consecutive nights was during the 2015-16 season.