NBA Finals Game 5: Miami Heat vs. Denver Nuggets live updates, how to watch

OK, let’s have the discussion.

Yes, there was one time in NBA history when a team came back from a 3-1 deficit to win the NBA Finals, so from here to eternity, any time we get to the point we are now in this Nuggets–Heat series, someone will say there was that one time.

It was in 2016, the Cleveland Cavaliers did it to the Golden State Warriors, behind arguably the three greatest consecutive games of LeBron James’ career, with a ton of help from Kyrie Irving, some master strokes by coach Tyronn Lue and, hey, one of the best players on that team, Kevin Love, is now on the Miami Heat.

So, even though this is so rare — 35 of the 36 teams to fall behind 3-1 in a finals did in fact lose that series — Love’s existence in the 2023 series is a good enough reason to entertain the idea of history repeating itself.

“We know that anything can happen,” Love said after the Heat lost Game 4, at home, 108-95. “Has been done before, in a conference final and final. I have been part of it before. You really just have to take it one possession at a time. Forget the game. It’s just one possession, one quarter, half to half. Just get it done by any means necessary and figure the rest out.”

For that matter, two other Cavs teams were down 3-1 in subsequent finals to the Warriors and lost both times.

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(Photo: Megan Briggs / Getty Images)