Author: Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY

The first Conor McGregor punch hit Burnie, the Miami Heat mascot, on the side of the head and McGregor hit him again after he fell to the court.

Up 3-1 in the NBA Finals, the impressive Nuggets are in position to claim the franchise’s first NBA championship, taking it business-like approach.

In Game 4 of the NBA Finals, when the Nuggets needed an additional scorer, Bruce Brown scored 21 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter.

No player has had three triple-doubles in an NBA Finals. Denver’s Nikola Jokic could do it – he’s averaging a triple-double through 18 playoff games.

Christian Braun heeds the call, comes off bench to score 15 points and grab four rebounds in 19 minutes as Michael Porter Jr. struggles.

The Denver Nuggets were still an efficient offensive team through two games of the NBA Finals against Miami. The bigger concern is their defense.

Kevin Love was back in the starting lineup for Miami in Game 2, and it paid big dividends for the Heat, who evened the NBA Finals vs. the Nuggets.

Jimmy Butler delivered a masterclass in leadership Saturday, expressing optimism, calm, direction and perspective before Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

Caleb Martin is just one of Miami’s undrafted players who was overlooked, cast off and used the G League to improve and land an NBA deal.