--F Kenyon Martin, known for his feistiness, has mostly been on good behavior this season. But Martin got back-to-back technical fouls late in the third quarter Thursday against Miami and was ejected by referee Monty McCutchen. But it didn't matter too much since the Nuggets were leading 92-67 at the time and went on to a 114-96 win.

--G Chauncey Billups is out of his scoring slump. Billups recently had a five-game stretch in which he averaged just 8.8 points and four times didn't reach double-figures. Since then, though, Billups has averaged 20.0 points in his last five games. And it hasn't been at the expense of passing since Billups has averaged 6.2 points during the stretch, slightly better than his season average.

--C Chris Andersen is showing staying power. After a so-so start to the season, Andersen broke out in a big way with 14 points, eight rebounds and five blocks Tuesday against Golden State. Andersen picked up where he left off Thursday with nine points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in a 114-96 rout of Miami. That's a good sign for the Nuggets considering there were some doubting whether Andersen might be going downhill after last season's surprising success.

MEDICAL WATCH:

--F Renaldo Balkman was inactive Thursday against Golden State for the third straight game. Balkman has said he has been under the weather this week and Nuggets coach George Karl said he had a wisdom tooth extracted Monday. Balkman is not expected to be out long.