Revisiting top NBA finals rematches during the regular season - ESPN

The Miami Heat and the Nuggets will meet in Denver on Thursday in a rematch of the 2023 NBA Finals.

Denver defeated Miami in five games for its first NBA championship in June. A rematch in the 2024 NBA Finals is not entirely out of the question — the Nuggets are third in the West, while the Heat are fifth in the East.

Though the hype of an NBA Finals matchup is difficult to replicate in the immediate regular season, some title rematches can make headlines.

Here's a look back at some notable ones through the years.

Game result: Lakers win 115-114

NBA Finals series: Lakers win 4-2

The Celtics and Lakers met three times in the NBA Finals during the 1980s. However, this regular-season rematch is arguably one of the best games between the two that decade.

The Celtics went up by three with just under a minute remaining, but the Lakers tied it with a Michael Cooper 3-pointer on the ensuing possession.

The score remained tied until Danny Ainge was fouled with three seconds remaining and split the free throws. Magic Johnson then banked in a fading long 2-pointer to give Los Angeles a momentous win, stunning the Boston Garden crowd.

Johnson had 18 points, 17 assists and eight rebounds, while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar added 23 points and eight rebounds. Larry Bird had a game-high 35 points and five steals alongside nine rebounds and eight assists.

Game result: Bulls win 91-84

NBA Finals series: 1996, Bulls win 4-2

The Bulls and SuperSonics entered a rematch of the previous season's Finals as two of the top teams in the NBA. Chicago was in the midst of an eight-game win streak, while Seattle had just two losses in the past month.

Just like the NBA Finals, the Bulls came out on top, controlling the majority of the game after setting