The Miami Heat may be getting Alonzo Mourning back for their game against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday.

But it doesn't mean the team will stop riding on the back of Eddie Jones, who is coming off his best career scoring game against the Nuggets on Tuesday.

While Mourning's flu, which kept him out of Miami's past two games, is not nearly as serious as the virus he had early in the season, it is uncertain how Mourning will react to missing two days of activity.

Point guard Rod Strickland also has not felt well lately and was checked by a doctor after Tuesday's game against Denver.

That could leave Jones largely responsible for Miami's scoring Friday, but he has no problem handling that type of responsibility.

Jones, Miami's leading scorer who bested his previous career-high by two points when he scored 37 against Denver, believes that as long as he is on the floor and out of foul trouble the Heat have a chance to win any game.

The contrast was obvious in Miami's two-game road trip. Against Utah, Jones picked up two early fouls and played only eight first-half minutes. As a result, Utah took a large lead early and held on.

Against Denver, Jones played 48 of a possible 53 minutes as Miami won its second game this year without Mourning in the lineup.

"When I leave the game, we have some problems," Jones said. "If I can keep myself on the floor, I think we give ourselves a better chance at winning games."

As long as teams don't double-team Jones, look for coach Pat Riley to run more isolation plays after Jones' success in the final minutes against Denver.

A lot of Jones' shots come from catch-and-shoot situations with Jones coming off several screens. But Riley has noticed an improvement in Jones' one-on-one play.

"He's stronger now and he's getting by people," Riley said. "I think earlier in the year they weren't letting him play; they would double him. I think Eddie, once he's alone, can get there."

? Brian on boards: A pair of impressive statistics went unnoticed Tuesday with Jones stealing the spotlight.

Brian Grant had a Heat season-high 14 rebounds. Miami has been regularly outrebounding opponents lately, highlighted by its 37-22 advantage on the boards against Utah on Monday. Utah's 22 rebounds were the fewest the Heat has allowed in team history. Though Miami was outrebounded by one against the Nuggets, the Heat outrebounded its previous four opponents by an average of 12.5 a game.

"I thought that was going to be a major strength for us this year, and it wasn't to start the season," Riley said.

Miami also is improving its free-throw shooting, as evidenced by its perfect 17-of-17 showing from the line Tuesday.