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The Miami Heat had a chance to pull off the upset against the Denver Nuggets Friday night but lost another late-game lead. 

Another case of the Heat failing to close out. 

“We should’ve won this game but we couldn’t get stops and Lowry didn’t wanna show up,” one user said. “This is our 6th straight loss to the Nuggets in Denver and they’ve beaten us 10/12 times. Embarrassing.”

The Heat shot poorly in the first half but kept things close. They got their offensive rhythm in the third quarter, where they have mostly struggled. The momentum carried over to the fourth quarter before Denver took control. 

Kyle Lowry took a lot of criticism for his play, recording just three points, three assists and two rebounds. In addition, his attempts at guarding Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon down the stretch were unsuccessful. The slander he received from last season continues to boil over.

There was at least some praise for rookie center Orlando Robinson, who had 13 points, five rebounds and one block. Robinson continues to be a solid backup at the five, calming previous concerns about the lack of depth at center amidst Omer Yurtseven’s injury. Fans are calling for Robinson to replace Dewayne Dedmon in the rotation.

The Heat have a chance to bounce back tonight when they face the Utah Jazz.

Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.