Nuggets 102, Heat 82: Wilson Chandler scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds as Denver blew out visiting Miami in the second half.

Arron Afflalo added 16 points for the Nuggets, who took control by outscoring Miami 31-14 in the third quarter. Kennth Faried returned from a two-game absence to collect 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench while Ty Lawson contributed 10 points and nine assists for Denver.

Chris Bosh scored 14 points and Luol Deng finished with 12 for for the Heat, who were coming off a narrow victory Tuesday night in Phoenix. Dwyane Wade added 10 points but shot 4-for-15 from the floor as Miami finished a season-low 36.6 percent from the floor.

Denver scored the first seven points of the second half to take a 55-48 lead and didn’t let off the gas. Lawson assisted on Timofey Mozgov’s dunk to move the lead into double figures with 4:50 left in the third quarter and Alonzo Gee followed with a 20-footer after the Heat missed three chances at the other end, stretching the lead to 67-55.

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra called timeout but the Nuggets continued to pour it on, especially in the last 1:17 of the third, when they outscored the Heat 10-3 to take a 79-62 lead into the fourth. Spoelstra kept Bosh and Wade on the floor deep into the final quarter but that didn’t stop Denver from putting together another 12-0 run to swell its lead to 27.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Faried returned after missing the two games with a back injury, but Danilo Gallinari sat out with a knee issue and JaVale McGee remained out with a leg injury. … The Heat were also thin on big men as Josh McRoberts (knee) missed the game and Chris Andersen (ankle) remained out, forcing Justin Hamilton into the starting lineup for the first time in his career. Hamilton finished with four points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes. … Lawson’s career-high streak of finishing with double figures in assists ended at nine.