Kendrick Nunn a bright spot in Heat’s Game One NBA Finals loss

Kendrick Nunn was the runner-up for NBA Rookie of the Year this season. Yet, the Oakland graduate and former Illinois guard has barely received any playing time during the Miami Heat’s surprise run to a 2020 NBA Finals appearance.

But in the Heat’s 116-98 Game One blowout loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Nunn received a second-half opportunity and made the most of it. On Wednesday, Nunn scored 18 points in 19 minutes on 8-for-11 shooting to go along with five rebounds and two assists.

“We can’t let guys come in and get too comfortable. We feel like we let Kendrick Nunn come in and get too comfortable,” said Lakers star Anthony Davis, a fellow Chicago native. “He’s a talented player, but if we want to win a championship, we’ve got to be better.”

Nunn was a late-game bright spot for the Heat in an uncompetitive loss, and it could be an important performance given Miami’s injury troubles. Heat starting point guard Goran Dragic left Game One with a foot injury and did not return.

As a 24-year-old rookie, Nunn started all 67 games he played in and averaged 15.3 points and 3.3 assists per game. The undrafted rookie finished second in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting, behind No. 2 overall pick Ja Morant and ahead of No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson.

But Nunn left the NBA bubble for personal reasons shortly after the NBA’s restart in Orlando (Fla.) and quickly fell out of a shortened rotation with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra leaning more heavily on Dragic, Andre Iguodala, Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson. Nunn did not play in six of the Heat’s first 15 playoff games and averaged just 11.5 minutes and 3.2 points (on 29.3 percent shooting) in nine playoff games.

But Nunn showed all season that he can be a dangerous scorer thanks to his quickness, athleticism and dangerous three-point shot (35.0 percent shooter). Nunn was the focus of a late-game conversation on ABC’s national broadcast.

“He started all 67 games he started in the regular season, he averaged over 15 a game,” play-by-play man Mike Breen said. “He had 20 or more 19 times during the season. He had a season-high 36. He had a great rookie year, all-rookie first team, and it all changed when he got sick right before the team got down here for the bubble.”

Added analyst Jeff Van Gundy: “But Mike, I think it was also how well Dragic played as a starter. Then they decided to cut the rotation significantly to seven and a few scrap minutes for Solomon Hill against Boston. So, this is an opportunity. You always got to stay ready.”

After three standout seasons at Illinois, Nunn was dismissed from the team after he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery. He transferred to Oakland University, where he became the 2017-18 Horizon League Player of the Year and the nation’s No. 2 leading scorer (25.9 points per game).

Nunn went undrafted and played a season in the NBA’s G-Leauge for the Santa Cruz Warriors. The Heat signed him last spring, and the guard shined throughout the offseason, both during Summer League and the preseason, including a 40-point preseason game against the Rockets. Those performances earned him a spot on the Heat roster, and he immediately proved his worth, scoring 112 points during his first five NBA regular-season games — the most by a rookie since Kevin Durant in 2007.