MIAMI, Feb. 21 (Ticker) -- Getting a blowout win in the front end of back-to-back games proved beneficial for the Miami Heat.

NBA TV highlights from Nuggets-Heat: 56k | 300k

Rookie Dwyane Wade scored 28 points and Lamar Odom added 21 as the Heat extended their winning streak to four games with a 97-81 victory over the Denver Nuggets.

The Heat were coming off Friday's 33-point rout of Atlanta in which coach Stan Van Gundy was able to rest his starters. No one played more than 30 minutes, so Miami was fresh for Denver, which was beaten at Orlando on Friday.

"That was huge being rested," Heat guard Eddie Jones said. "Our key guys were well-rested. When you get into back-to-back games, that's what you want. You want to see how much energy you want to display out on the floor, and we displayed a great deal."

Denver took a 45-40 lead into the locker room but appeared to tire in the third quarter. The Heat began to run as Wade and Odom scored several easy baskets during a 23-8 spurt that opened a 70-60 advantage with 3:10 to go in the period.

"It was good that we all had a lot of rest and had fresh legs today," Wade said. "It was really a dogfight in the first half. We really needed that rest from that game yesterday."

Odom and Wade combined for 20 of Miami's 35 points in the third. Facing a team that played each starter at least 30 minutes on Friday, the duo had little trouble generating offense and helping out on defense.

In his first meeting with Carmelo Anthony, Wade outplayed the rookie forward. Wade made 13-of-24 shots while Anthony was just 3-of-16.

"They played great team defense tonight," Anthony said. "When I drove, everyone seemed to be trying to stop me. Their defense was really strong. This was the most physical game I have played so far."

"It was our best defensive effort of the year," Van Gundy said. "They were 4-for-20 in the third quarter and it was not that they were just missing shots. We were really into them and we really stepped up the competitive level of the game."

After taking a nine-point cushion into the fourth quarter, Miami finished off the Nuggets. The Heat extended the lead to 87-72 with just under eight minutes to play.

The win was the Heat's fourth straight by double digits. It also matched their longest winning streak of the season and gave them home victories on consecutive nights for the first time in nearly five years.

Anthony led Denver with 16 points, failing to reach 20 for the 10th straight game. He had 31 against Miami on January 18.