The stars were shining bright in South Beach on Wednesday night, but one unlikely player looked to steal the spotlight. Denver Nuggets rookie Christian Braun came off the bench and went on an absolute tear in the third quarter against the Miami Heat.

The first-year role player out of Kansas unexpectedly took center stage in the second half and put up 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field. While his teammates continued to dominate, Braun's fresh legs off the bench helped extend the five-point halftime lead to over 20 during the hot streak.

Braun's epic performance included a steal into a fast break slam dunk to close out the quarter that received high praise from NBA twitter. He also had a tough and-1 against Heat star Jimmy Butler that made electric highlight rounds, and a great assist to Nikola Jokic after slashing through the defense.

In addition to the young gun showing up on the biggest stage, his teammates carried more than their fair share of the load. Star duo Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray combined for 66 points, both with unprecedented triple-doubles. Their shared 66 matched the point total for the entire Heat starting lineup, further illustrating the Nuggets Denver dominance.

Many fans and analysts commented on the dueling storylines, as Christian Braun dominated the third quarter but was overshadowed by his superstar MVP teammate Jokic. When it was all said and done, Braun finished with 15 points and the Nuggets won by that same margin, 109-94.

The Nuggets will look to extend their NBA Finals lead in Game 4 on Friday night in Miami. If they play with the same energy and cohesion seen tonight, they will have the chance to return home and win the series in five games.