DENVER -- Hassan Whiteside got on the bus to the arena feeling better than he has in a long time. He then showed it with a monster performance.

Whiteside had his third career triple-double, forward Chris Bosh scored 24 points and the short-handed Miami Heat rallied to beat the Denver Nuggets 98-95 on Friday night.

Whiteside had 19 points, 17 rebounds and 11 blocks to pace the Heat (23-17). The 11 blocks were a season high and one shy of his career best and helped Miami end a three-game losing streak.

"Hassan Whiteside was an animal tonight," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.

Forward Darrell Arthur led Denver (15-25) with 18 points and guard Emmanuel Mudiay scored 16 off the bench.

The Heat were without guard Dwyane Wade, who sat out with two sore shoulders. Coach Erik Spoelstra said before the game that Wade had a slight sprain of one shoulder and "a little bit of an impingement issue that he's had" in the other.

Wade's absence meant the Heat played without their starting backcourt and two of their top three scorers. Guard Goran Dragic missed his second straight game with a strained left calf and Beno Udrih (11 points, 11 assists) started in his place.

Wade had a front-row seat to watch Whiteside dominate the Nuggets.

"It was fun to watch. Whiteside was huge, and it's unfortunate because we expect that," Wade said. "I think everyone's come to expect a guy who can do that, but he did it tonight and that's all that matters right now."

Wade said he hopes to play Sunday at Oklahoma City after taking three days off for treatment.

"I haven't gotten any MRIs or nothing," Wade said. "Right now, I'm going off how I feel."

Whiteside has been bothered by tendinitis in his right knee that has limited him at times. On the trip to the arena, he told Spoelstra he felt great.

"I told coach, 'Don't limit my minutes,'" Whiteside said. "'I'm back to that athletic Hassan you know.'"

Whiteside dominated the paint and nearly had a triple-double in the second half with 10 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks.

Denver shot just 28.6 percent from the field in the second half and scored only 33 points, and Whiteside's presence was a big reason.

"It's more so the other team changes their whole game scheme," Whiteside said of his blocking ability. "I think the last four or five minutes I don't even remember a layup. We just kept running them off the 3-point line and they tried to beat us with mid-range jumpers."

Bosh and Whiteside brought the Heat back from a double-digit deficit in the third quarter. Bosh scored 10 points and Whiteside had nine points, six rebounds and four blocks in the quarter.

Whiteside slammed home an alley-oop from Udrih at the end of the quarter to cut Denver's lead to 78-76.

Forward Justise Winslow scored five straight points during a 9-0 run that gave Miami an 87-82 lead. Whiteside had two blocks early in the fourth quarter to get his triple-double.

Denver rallied to tie at 95, but Bosh hit a turnaround jumper with 55 seconds left to give Miami a 97-95 lead.

Forward Danilo Gallinari missed a 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds left and Bosh split two free throws to give Denver a chance to tie. But guard Jameer Nelson missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

"I just wanted to get a shot off," Nelson said. "I've taken shots at the end of the game before. It doesn't bother me making or missing."

The Nuggets took advantage of the injury-depleted Heat with a scorching start. They hit their first five 3-pointers and were shooting 67 percent midway through the second quarter before cooling off. They led by as many as 18 points in the first half and were up 62-46 at the break.

"First half we were shooting 55 percent, so to go all the way down to 41 percent meant our offense was stagnant," Malone said.

NOTES: Nuggets C Jusuf Nurkic did not play because of left knee soreness. Nurkic missed the first 33 games of the season recovering from surgery on the knee and was injured in Wednesday's win over Golden State. .... Miami dressed just 10 players due to injuries. In addition to G Dwyane Wade (shoulders), C Chris Andersen (left knee), G Goran Dragic (strained left calf) and F Josh McRoberts (right knee) were also out. ... Denver G Emmanuel Mudiay continue to come off the bench as he works his way back from a right ankle sprain that kept him out of 14 straight games. ... Andersen is scheduled to have an MRI on his knee.