The Heat opens Eastern finals against the Celtics on Tuesday,

Doc Rivers is fully aware of the adage that says the hardest games to win in the NBA are the ones where one team can end another’s season. He’d like to amend that theory.

“Just winning a game in the NBA is hard,” the Los Angeles Clippers’ coach said. “We definitely lost our discipline.’’

The franchise that spent decades best described as woebegone has never reached the conference finals, now 0-6 in games where they could clinch a spot in that round after losing to Denver 111-105 in Game 5 of their Western Conference semifinal series.

Game 6 is Sunday, when the Clippers, up 3-2, will once again try to make franchise history. They blew a 15-point second-half lead.

“We gave a game up,” Clippers forward Paul George said.

Kawhi Leonard’s 3-pointer with 1:25 left in the third put the Clippers up 80-67. They got outscored 44-25 the rest of the way.

The Nuggets are 4-0 when facing elimination this season, after rallying from 3-1 down against Utah in the first round. No team has ever pulled off a pair of 3-1 comebacks in the same decade.

CHAMPS GOING HOME

Kyle Lowry and the Toronto Raptors spent nearly three months in Florida for the NBA restart. That’s a lot of time away from his children, and Lowry made no secret during his time in the bubble that it was hard to be separated from them.

The Raptors are the reigning NBA champions no more. Their run ended Friday with a Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semis, ending the longest season in team history.

“I get to go see my babies, man,” Lowry said.

“I’ve been going damn near three months without seeing my kids. I don’t want to be going home. ... and I know my kids don’t want me to be home because they wanted their daddy to win another championship.”

They’ll have to wait until at least 2021 for that.