Associated Press — MIAMI In a repeat of the championship game, which took place on Wednesday night, the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat by a score of 100-88. Michael Porter Jr. scored 25 points, Aaron Gordon added 16 points, and the Nuggets took sole possession of first place in the Western Conference rankings.

The Nuggets (46-20) pulled a half-game ahead of Oklahoma City (45-20) and a full game ahead of Minnesota (45-21) in the race for the Western Conference. Jamal Murray scored 14 points, and Nikola Jokic ended with 12 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists for the Nuggets.

Since the All-Star break, Denver has a perfect record of 10-1 in the NBA.

For the Miami Heat, Bam Adebayo not only scored 17 points but also grabbed 13 rebounds. The Heat (35-30) are currently two and a half games behind Orlando, who won their game against Brooklyn on Wednesday, in the fight for the Southeast Division. Jimmy Butler scored 15 points, Terry Rozier collected 14 points, and Duncan Robinson contributed 11 points for the Heat.

Tyler Herro (foot) and Kevin Love (heel) will not be available for the Heat’s game on Wednesday, which will be their fourth consecutive loss. The Heat are now ranked eighth in the Eastern Conference.

Additionally, Denver has won seven consecutive games on Miami’s home court, and it has a record of 12-1 in its last 13 games versus the Heat, including the NBA Finals from the previous season.

After a 15-0 run in the first quarter, Denver was able to create a double-digit advantage, which finally reached 13 points in the first period of play. For the first half, the Nuggets held the lead for all but 2 minutes and 48 seconds, although the Heat never fell behind by more than eight points in the second quarter.

And in the third, Miami was eventually able to reclaim the lead, albeit for a limited period of time. Thomas Bryant, a former center for the Denver Nuggets, scored a four-point lead late in the third quarter, which was the same as Miami’s largest lead of the evening. However, Denver answered with a 10-point run and continued to maintain their lead for the rest of the game.