"Dwyane Wade began this five-game road trip with an injury and he'll end it with another.

With seven minutes left in the Heat's 117-104 loss to the Nuggets on Friday at Pepsi Center, Wade fell awkwardly on his right ankle and immediately went down. It was a depressing conclusion to a road trip that started with such promise but ended with three straight losses.

Wade, who rolled his ankle after coming down on Al Harrington's foot, remained on the court for several tense minutes before limping to the bench and then to the locker room. He was diagnosed with a sprained ankle, finishing the game with 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Wade has never won in Denver.

"I sprained my ankle plenty of times but I never really sprained it like that before," Wade said. "Once I got the X-rays and realized it wasn't broken, I can go ahead and start my treatment . . . but it never hurt like that before.

"It's not broken," Wade added. "So that's a positive."

Little else seems positive at this point, though. The Heat flew to the West Coast with the best record in the NBA but now returns to Miami 8-4. The Heat has an off day on Saturday but will likely practice on Sunday. Tuesday's game against the Spurs will present another difficult challenge and the Heat very well could be without Wade.

"It's part of sports," Wade said. "I look at it and knock on wood and say it could be worse.""