Sioux Falls Heat fall short to the best in the West at home

The Miami Heat's injury list was long for tonight's game against the best team in the West the Denver Nuggets and while it didn't show in the Heat's performance only two of the eight players that played tonight were actually drafted.

Despite the injuries, the Heat were able to keep this game tight as they normally do as they lost 112-108. There was a moment in the second half where the Heat had five undrafted players against the two-time MVP Nikola Jokic.

Probably not what Heat fans were hoping to see in this matchup, but the reality is that this is the epitome of Heat culture. This organization is able to get the most out of their players and that's what we saw in this game.

Speaking of Jokic, he played a near perfect game despite being guarded by the best defender in the league in Bam Adebayo. He finished the night with 27 points on 12-of-14 shooting to go with 12 rebounds, eight assists and no turnovers. The man is just a magician on the floor and makes the game of basketball look easy.

As for the Miami Heat, they played a solid game overall despite the lack of talent on the floor. Jimmy Butler had a near triple double with 24 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and one steal. He did a great job throughout the game aggressively finding his shot in the paint and drawing fouls when the Heat needed it most. Bam has his hands full with Jokic, so he didn't have his normal dominant game from this season. Still had 19 points and a number of really nice post denials on Jokic, but would have loved to see him get a bit more aggressive down the stretch.

Max Strus was the other stand out for the Heat as he scored 23 points on 8-of-20 shooting, seven rebounds and four assists in 41 minutes. Some of his late game decision making was questionable, but the Heat aren't in a position to win this game without his efforts throughout the game. So I'm giving him his flowers.

Lastly, I want to talk about the emergence of Jamaree Bouyea, who had the best game of his young NBA career. He led the bench in scoring with 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting, three assists, two rebounds, three steals and a block. He was extremely active and was giving the Heat serviceable minutes and it was great to see him willing to shoot the ball in this game.

Next up, the Miami Heat will be taking on the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center for the last game before the All-Star break.