It's Monday, June 12th. Is this the day the NBA coronates its 2022-23 NBA Champions? Or will the Miami Heat send the NBA Finals back to South Beach and force a Game 6 against the Denver Nuggets? Nearly everybody thinks the Heat are finished. They are ready to crown the Nuggets as champs and cement Nikola Jokic's legacy as one of the greatest players of all time.

They have every reason to do so. Denver looked very dominant in their two road wins in Miami. The Heat had no answer for Jokic and Jamal Murray. Denver's role players have stepped up. This really just seems like a matter of time.

Nonetheless, if there is one mistake any hoops fan can commit, it is counting out Jimmy Butler and the Heat. Miami has been here before. Just when everybody thinks they're dead in the water, they rise above the waves and show that Heat resiliency to stay afloat, even for just another fight. With that said, here are three reasons Miami can still force a Game 6 versus Denver.

1. The Heat won the last time they played in Denver

The Nuggets' convincing victories in Miami seems to have made the Heat's win in Denver irrelevant. To be fair, at this point, it actually is since the Heat are already on the brink of losing the Finals. But that win should still carry some weight and consideration heading into Monday night's Game 5.

This was the same sentiment the Heat entered that building with back in Game 2. The Nuggets were in cruise control in Game 1 and Miami just simply looked outclassed in the series opener. But in Game 2, the Heat came into Ball Arena and overcame a 41-point masterclass to win in a 111-108 thriller.

After Games 3 and 4, it's easy to forget Miami's inspirational performance just a week ago. They overcame a 15-point Denver lead. Duncan Robinson had a massive fourth quarter where he scored 10 points. And the Heat defense held every non-Jokic Nuggets player below 20 points. It was a game that had all the ingredients of Heat culture.

Perhaps the Heat can do it again to force Game 6.

2. The Heat won their last elimination game on the road

In case you need a reminder, too, the last time Miami played an elimination game on the road — Game 7 against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals — it came out on top. Just like in this series, everybody had already counted out the Heat. They were ready for Boston to make history and Miami to become the first team ever to lose a series after going up 3-0.

But in classic Heat fashion, their resiliency and resolve came out. Despite all the outside noise, they dominated Game 7 en route to a 103-84 victory. Again, that signature Game 7 win had all the ingredients of Heat culture.

It was a total team effort that saw Jimmy Butler lead the way with 28 points. It was the game where an unsung hero in Caleb Martin came up huge with 26 points and 10 rebounds in a high-pressure moment. They did it on the defensive end, too. Miami clamped up Boston to just 39.0 percent shooting from the field and just 9-of-42 shooting from beyond the arc.

And they did it together. They came in there in Boston, took the hearts of the Celtics fans, and ran away with it to an unprecedented Finals appearance — just the second time an 8th seed made the championship round.

And there's no reason to believe they can't do it again, even for just one more game.

3. Can't count out Playoff Jimmy Butler

Yeah, Playoff Jimmy Butler has yet to make an appearance in the NBA Finals. The Heat star hasn't had that signature classic playoff performance in this series that NBA fans have grown accustomed to over his career. But maybe, Butler still has one last Houdini act up his sleeve.

We've seen magical performances from Butler time and time again that it's just hard to ignore the possibility of that happening on Monday night. The back-to-back virtuosos against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round come to mind. He scored a playoff career-high 56 points in an improbable come-from-behind win to give Miami a 3-1 lead. Then, he had a near-repeat performance in Game 5 with a 42-point outburst to lead another comeback effort and close out the top seed in the Eastern Conference in five games.

He also did it in Game 5 of the 2020 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers where he carried the Heat with a 35-point triple-double masterclass to extend the series to another game. Again, heading into this game, everybody was ready to count out the Heat and crown LeBron James and the Lakers as NBA champs. But Butler had different plans. He knocked down several clutch shots down the stretch and simply refused to let Miami go down in five.

Miami may not win this series against the Nuggets, but the owner of Big Face Coffee just isn't about to go down without a fight.