It took them a little bit longer than they expected, but the Miami Heat eventually made it back to the NBA Finals. Their road to the Finals took an unwanted detour when the Boston Celtics stormed back from a 0-3 hole. However, at the last moment, Miami course-corrected thanks to a big game from Caleb Martin. In doing so, the Heat preserved Kevin Love's immaculate Eastern Conference playoff streak, per ClutchPoints.

“Kevin Love is undefeated in the Eastern Conference playoffs. 5  months ago he wasn't getting minutes for a first-round exit. Now he's going to his 5th NBA Finals…”

Kevin Love isn't the same player that he was during his days in Minnesota. Hell, he's not even the same player that helped Cleveland mount their historic 3-1 comeback. However, the skillset he brings to the Heat is still incredibly valuable. He provides much-needed spacing and depth at the forward position, and he's bailed out the team several times in the postseason. It's crazy to think that early in the season, Love was a full-time bench warmer for the Cavs.

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Miami Heat star Terry Rozier and head coach Erik Spoelstra in front of the Kaseya Center.

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Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo and head coach Erik Spoelstra in Team USA garb in front of the Kaseya Center.

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Miami Heat stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo next to Philadelphia 76ers Joel Embiid in front of the Kaseya Center.

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Love's arrival helped sparked a late-season resurgence for the Heat this season. They were able to hang on for their lives to make it to the Play-In Tournament. All hope seemed lost after dropping their first game against the Hawks. Since then, though, Miami has come back with a vengeance. They knocked out the Bulls to advance to the playoffs, thoroughly dismantled the Bucks and Knicks in the first two rounds, and then survived the Boston onslaught to make it to the Finals.

Can the Heat keep Kevin Love's winning streak going? Miami is by no means favored in this matchup. As dominant as they've been this postseason (save for the last three games of the Celtics series), their dominance is no match to the Nuggets' scorching-hot postseason. Do the Heat have one more epic underdog story in them to tell?