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‘It’s not impossible’: Heat hold hope of Finals comeback vs. Nuggets, but history (1-35) says otherwise

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler, with ball, drives to the basket as Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) defends during Game 4 of the NBA Finals Friday in Miami. Associated Press

DENVER – “It’s not impossible.”

That now is Jimmy Butler’s starting point, as the Miami Heat’s leading man put it after Friday night’s 108-95 loss to the Denver Nuggets at Kaseya Center put his team down 3-1 in the best-of-seven NBA Finals.

And it’s not, as teammate Kevin Love can attest.

Love’s 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers came back from such a deficit to defeat the Golden State Warriors in that season’s NBA Finals.

“We know that anything can happen. Has been done before,” Love said. “I have been part of it before.”

The reality also is that 2016 also is the only time it has happened. Teams that lead the NBA Finals 3-1 have gone on to win the series 97.2 percent of the time, winning 35 of 36 such series. Overall, teams up 3-1 in any NBA playoff round have gone on to win the series 95.4 percent of the time (267-13).

“Same thing it’s always been, it’s one game at a time,” Butler said, with the series shifting to Ball Arena for Monday’s 8:30 p.m. Game 5. “Now we are in a must-win situation every single game, which we’re capable of.”

Already during this playoff ride from the No. 8 Eastern Conference seed, the Heat have strung together a pair of four-game winning streaks.

But those runs that included victories over the Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks and Boston Celtics came before the Heat faced anything as unique as what the Nuggets have presented with immovable force Nikola Jokic and dual scoring/passing threat Jamal Murray.

“We are going into Monday and do what we said we were going to do this entire time, and win,” Butler said of what otherwise would turn into a Nuggets coronation. “We have to. We have no other choice. Otherwise, we did all this for no reason.

“The guys know. We know. We’ve got something to do.”

To this stage, the only moment of true desperation for the Heat came in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, when they blew past the Celtics at TD Garden. Now it would require at least three such back-to-back wall moments of success for this ride from 44-38 regular season to provide the desired outcome.

“We’ve done some hard things all year long in this playoff run, as well, and now it’s like the hardest of the hard,” Butler said.

Love said his Cavaliers were able to bounce back from such a deficit against the Warriors by living in the moment, the micro moments.

“You really just have to take it one possession at a time,” he said. “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.”

Point guard Kyle Lowry said there can be no other way.

“When you get into these situations, you have to really be focused on every second, literally every second,” he said, with his Toronto Raptors winning the 2019 NBA title in six games from a 3-1 series lead.

Coach Erik Spoelstra said a season built on overcoming adversity has prepared his team for the ultimate such intersection.

“Our whole season hasn’t been easy,” center Bam Adebayo said. “We just seem like we just — we won’t quit. And I feel like that’s what he means. We just will not quit.”

Having somewhat been on the opposite side, when the Heat’s 3-0 lead against the Celtics became a 3-3 tie, Adebayo said there already is a blueprint.

“We’ve seen a team come back from 3-0 firsthand,” Adebayo said. “So we just have to believe, and one game at a time.

“Biggest thing is, first to four. That’s the biggest thing, first to four. We take it one game at a time and we figure this thing out.”

With the Heat’s three losses in the series including deficits of 24, 21 and 17 points, there is plenty to figure out during this two-day break.

“Definitely not going to hang our heads or quit,” guard Duncan Robinson said. “That’s not an option. It’s not going to happen. So we’ll band together and get on this flight (Saturday) and find a way to figure it out.

“They are a good team. They have got a good scheme, and it’s on us to continue to try to figure it out.”

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