This year in Major League Baseball, almost all the attention has been paid to on-field trends, as a slew of historic rule changes impacted almost every aspect of the game. Now, MLB is turning some of its attention back to the economics of the sport.

It was only 14 months ago that a brutal labor battle between the league and the MLB Players Association ended with a five-year collective bargaining agreement. Once again, the players were able to secure a system without a hard salary cap, and MLB remains the only one of the four major professional North American sports without some form of hard payroll floor or ceiling. It has led to some dramatic differences in team payrolls and some dramatic effects on the standings as well.

And this year, a record amount of spending in free agency pushed the difference in payrolls between the top and bottom teams to new extremes. During the 2022 season, approximately $226 million separated the payrolls of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles, the largest gap in the history of the sport -- at the time. This season, it's even larger, with a gap of nearly $299 million between the New York Mets and Oakland Athletics. But they're not the only outliers: The A's are one of three teams with an Opening Day payroll under $100 million; the Mets are one of 14 teams with payrolls of more than $200 million (only Steve Cohen's team crosses the $300 million threshold).

Those differences could be tied to new extremes on the field, too. In 2022, there were a record-tying four 100-win teams, and another with 99 victories. Meanwhile, there were four 100-loss teams --- also a record -- and another one with 97 defeats. Those 100-win teams averaged nearly $226 million in payroll, while the 100-loss squads averaged just under $87 million.

Last year, the league created an "economic reform committee," made up of a select group of owners who assess and advise the commissioner on economic issues such as payroll disparity and the regional sports network collapse. MLB has often expressed concerns with the growing chasm in revenues and point to teams like this year's A's, who have the lowest payroll and are on pace for one of the worst seasons in baseball history (look out, fans of the 1899 Cleveland Spiders).

But it's not an exact science: This year, the standings aren't so clearly tied. If the playoffs were to begin today, three of the top four payrolls would be out, while three of the bottom four would still be playing.

The league still insists it's worthy of attention.

"Ever since I started in the game, we have struggled with the related concepts of revenue disparity and payroll disparity and competitive balance," commissioner Rob Manfred told ESPN. "The reason for that isn't about making money. It's the fact that what we sell in our game is competition and we need to make sure that we have a system in place that fans in all markets believe they have a chance."

Payroll vs. parity on the field?

In 2000, the league commissioned an economic study and Blue Ribbon report -- authored by former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell and others -- which essentially concluded that baseball was headed toward financial ruin, in part because the gap between the top spender and the bottom one was growing. The difference then was $77 million.

"We believe that current trends cannot continue if the game is to remain an accessible, affordable, competitive national pastime," the report read.

So claims of competitive imbalance are nothing new -- and at various points in the 23 years since the Blue Ribbon report, there have been mixed indications of what growing payroll disparity has meant for the game.

In terms of win totals, the correlation of salary and success seems clear. The top six teams in payroll over the past five years have averaged 91 wins, up from 86 by the top salaried teams in the previous five years. And despite the relative success of small-market, lower-revenue-generating teams like the Tampa Bay Rays, the Kansas City Royals are the only team since 2010 to win the World Series with a payroll in the bottom half of the league.

"You've seen teams with low payrolls win, and teams with high payrolls lose, but those big markets have an advantage," Chicago White Sox left fielder Andrew Benintendi said. "Smaller markets can't afford some of those players. That divide is growing."

That said, there's no monopoly. The Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox are the only big-market teams to win more than one title since the Blue Ribbon report was released in 2000. Since 2015, 28 of the 30 MLB teams have made the playoffs. Since 2010, it's 30 of 30.

In 2019, Manfred lauded the system, which, that year, produced equal playoff teams from both big and small markets.

"I think we have an economic system that has produced a remarkable level of competitive balance over time," he said then.

He said something similar just last week, in another season in which so far we see parity working. If the season ended today, only the Atlanta Braves would repeat as division winners.

"Baseball is doing just great," Manfred said at a recent hearing regarding the regional sports network (RSN) situation. "We've had one of the best starts to a season in decades."

That's thanks in large part to several surprise teams in the mix this year, but sustaining long windows of contention hasn't always been easy for a lot of them. For many smaller-market clubs, cycles of rebuilding have become the norm, and those down years lower payrolls for players while widening the disparity between the top and bottom teams. Teams have always gone through rebuilding stages, but it has become more pronounced and strategic over the past decade or longer.

"It's becoming a little more prevalent," said Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson, who spent six years with the small-market A's before a 2022 trade. "It is sad when coming up with an organization you think you'll undo the cycle, playing good baseball. Hitting the reset button seems to be happening on a decent amount of clubs. It's OK if you're not winning and trying to rebuild a little, but when you get to the point of having a good team and recognizing it, it's a little deflating if you don't spend."

Forcing teams to spend even during a rebuild is a hard case to make, though, even for the union. The concept of a salary floor was raised during the most recent labor negotiations, but it was summarily dismissed: Any discussion of increased small-market payrolls would mean implementing a system they believed would curtail big spending on top free agents.

"If you get a floor, you get a cap," Mets pitcher and former MLBPA executive subcommittee rep Max Scherzer said. "There was a proposal exchanged on that."

In a perfect world, teams would spend on their own with hopes of fielding a winning team. That's not always happening -- and there's no easy solution.

"All clubs have demonstrated the ability to compete," MLBPA executive director Tony Clark told ESPN. "The question is whether they are willing to do so."

The Orioles, in second place in the AL East, are a prime example of what successful drafting and rebuilding looks like -- but the team suffered through years of losing and low payrolls to get to their current competitive level.

"Since I've been here, our payroll is what it is," O's manager Brandon Hyde said. "I can only control what I can control. Those decisions aren't up to me. We do the best we can do with the group that we have.

"I'm sure as we get better, our payroll is going to increase. Our players are going to make more, too, as they get to their fourth, fifth and sixth year. I can see it going up."

Baltimore has surprised fans and pundits alike with its success this year, but the Orioles are the exception, not the rule.

"I hate that in a lot of years, half or at least a third of the league might be out of contention on Day 1," one executive of a big-market team said. "I like when a team comes out of nowhere and surprises the league. We see less of that now."

Should the concern be higher this time?

The trends have become more and more pronounced as big-market teams continue to realize revenue streams in and outside of ballparks. VIP seating, team-owned television networks and even bars surrounding stadiums, along with new gambling facilities, have all added to revenues. And while those markets have always spent more on payroll, they've also caught up to the smaller markets in other ways, spending more on team infrastructure.

"There was a real shift when the Yankees, Dodgers and Red Sox started spending as much attention to scouting and player development and analytics as the small-market teams were," one small-market AL executive said. "There was a time when payroll disparity was mitigated, somewhat, by systems and internal processes that were better than those teams. There was a time when we were considered farm systems for those bigger market teams. Now, they're spending 2.5 times on their payroll and their infrastructure."

In other words, small-market teams previously stood out by drafting and developing players at a highly successful rate. Now, those bigger markets are doing it as well.

"Call it the Andrew Friedman effect," another executive said, referring to the Dodgers president who took his small-market mentality from Tampa Bay to Los Angeles.

"The Yankees will eventually employ a coach for every player, if that's what it takes," another one quipped.

With new revenue streams and more time and money spent on team infrastructure, smaller markets maintain that the imbalance is approaching "unsustainable levels," according to one executive.

"You're seeing the commissioner's office spend a little bit more thoughtfulness on not only the big picture of payroll but also on teams spending a ton of money on other spaces," Minnesota Twins president Thad Levine said. "Are there ways to regulate some of those things?"

That's partly what the economic reform committee will be looking into. But there is no clear statistic that proves the system can't work as is, and the players association is loath to suggest anything that could lead to a full economic restructuring. The players have been clear about wanting to avoid a hard salary cap, while rebuilding teams are always hopeful their organizations will spend when the time comes. Many have -- to a point.

Again, Baltimore's 2023 success stands out. But will a team such as the Orioles be able to sustain a window of winning in the same way the Dodgers, Astros or Yankees have? Or will they go the route of the Rays, in which trading players before they make too much money through arbitration is the norm?

"Sometimes the question comes down to ownership," more than one executive said.

Motivated ones, such as the Padres' Peter Seidler, seemingly don't care about market size or perhaps, in extreme cases, even the bottom line. Over the past five years, 11 players signed deals for $300 million or more, but just three were with a bottom-15 market team. All three were with San Diego.

But even as the Padres help muddy the waters as a small-market team with a massive payroll, they also continue to highlight the disparity among the league. (Their on-field struggles complicate matters, as well.)

Just 18 months ago, the league locked out the players when the two sides stood far apart on topics such as competitive balance and payroll -- and the next negotiations are coming up faster than they seem. The MLBPA already suspects the economic reform committee is just another avenue for the league to attempt to suppress player salaries in the next negotiation.

Which way these issues continue to trend will say a lot about how those talks go this time. Like MLB was 23 years ago, the commissioner is concerned.

"We increased in terms of disparity this offseason," Manfred said. "It's something we're going to have to keep an eye on."

Tunisia's Ons Jabeur moved into the quarter-finals of the French Open for the first time with a 6-3 6-1 victory over American Bernarda Pera.

She has now reached the quarter-finals in all four Grand Slam events.

Seventh seed Jabeur, 28, will meet either Brazilian 14th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia or Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo in the last eight.

World number 36 Pera, also 28 and playing in her first Grand Slam last-16 match, struggled on Court Philippe Chatrier and did not hold serve at all.

Jabeur was not at her fluent best and was herself broken three times in the first set and at the start of the second set, but she raced through the final six games, sealing victory in 63 minutes.

"I wouldn't say it was easy, it was very tough and I'm so happy. It took me three times to get to the quarter-finals and I'm very happy to make my best result here at the French Open," Jabeur told Eurosport.

"Hopefully I can continue playing well and we will see what happens."

Exeter boss Susie Appleby says she is looking forward to a "huge" Premier 15s semi-final against Saracens.

Exeter beat Saracens at Sandy Park in the Allianz Cup final in March while each side won their home league game.

"Sarries have never been to us and won and we've never been to Sarries and won," Appleby told BBC Radio Devon.

"So to bring them to Sandy Park for a home semi in front of our amazing crowd is pretty huge.

"We're both very strong sides, as we know a semi-final is knockout time and anything can happen on the day, but we're going to give it our best shot on Sunday."

It is just Exeter's third season in the women's top flight but they have now finished second for the second consecutive campaign.

While they are yet to win the title they have won back-to-back Allianz Cups and finished this year's regular season three points ahead of Saracens after both sides had won 15 of their 18 matches.

"In terms of style of play we love to move the ball, as do Saracens, so I hope it's going to make for a really good game on Sunday," Appleby added.

"The collision area is huge. Whoever can get ascendency in that area is probably going to give themselves the best chance of winning the game.

"There's lots of factors that are going to contribute to the performance on Sunday, but we're really happy to have got ourselves into that home semi-final berth.

"We'll give it our best shot. Of course we're confident - we beat Saracens in the cup final at Sandy Park and we had a win on the road against Gloucester - we've got some good momentum coming into this game, and so have Saracens.

"It's play-off time, it's knockout and we're feeling confident and excited."

Manchester United are pushing ahead with a bid to sign Mason Mount despite ongoing uncertainty over the club's ownership, sources have told ESPN.

The board, including co-chairmen Joel and Avram Glazer, have given the green light to pursue Mount, who is set to leave Chelsea this summer.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

United believe they can win the race for the England midfielder's signature, sources have told ESPN, although initial enquiries have prompted concerns about Chelsea's valuation.

Mount has a year left on his contract at Stamford Bridge and negotiations over a new deal have stalled.

There is optimism that a deal for the 24-year-old can be done but sources have told ESPN that manager Erik ten Hag is growing concerned about the rest of his summer transfer plans, in part because he remains in the dark about how much money is available for new players.

The Glazers are considering takeover offers from British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim, while Ten Hag, according to sources, has had little information about how the sale process is progressing.

Sources have told ESPN that both Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim have senior management teams in place if their offers are accepted but any transition is likely to take time. The next step would be for Raine Group, the merchant bank working on behalf of the Glazers, to name a preferred bidder.

Ten Hag's priority this summer is to sign an established striker -- ideally Harry Kane -- but he is prepared to move on from the Tottenham forward if talks do not progress relatively quickly.

As well as a midfielder and at least one striker, Ten Hag would also like a new goalkeeper to compete for the No. 1 spot with David De Gea, who is set to sign a new contract, but there are question marks about what funds will be available.

Meanwhile, Fred has said he will talk to Tan Hag before deciding on his future. The Brazilian midfielder has a year left on his contract but has slipped down the pecking order at Old Trafford following the arrivals of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen last summer.

Sources have told ESPN that United are open to offers for Fred, along with Harry Maguire, Anthony Martial, Scott McTominay, Dean Henderson, Anthony Elanga, Eric Bailly and Alex Telles.

"Of course I always want to be playing, to be helping my team," Fred said after the FA Cup final defeat to City.

"I still don't know [about the future], I have to talk with my family. I still have one year left in my contract here. Now it's holiday time and a good opportunity to rest. I'll talk to my staff, to the club and see what's everyone's decision."

"I do have to talk with Ten Hag as well, he's the manager and the conversation has to involve everyone. We have to see how next season will plan out.

"I want to be important, I want to help the team, so we'll see. But I've always been and still am very happy at Manchester United."

Dutch runner scores impressive victories over 1500m and 10,000m at FBK Games as British sprinters Daryll Neita and Reece Prescod are also in winning form

Just six weeks after her extraordinary marathon win in London, Sifan Hassan returned to racing with back-to-back victories over 10,000m and 1500m at the FBK Games in Hengelo.

The 30-year-old enjoys a busy racing schedule. In 2021 she won Olympic 5000m and 10,000m golds plus 1500m bronze at the Tokyo Olympics and here she clocked a world-leading time of 29:37.80 for 10,000m on Saturday (June 3) before returning less than 24 hours later to win the 1500m in 3:58.12.

In the 10,000m she still had company from Grace Loibach Nawowuna of Kenya with a lap to go, but she unleashed her famed finishing sprint to pull 10 seconds clear, as Nawowuna, who is only 19, clocked 29:47.42. Then, in the 1500m, she was challenged by another up-and-coming Kenyan runner, Nelly Chepchirchir, but surged clear in the home straight to win by 84 hundredths of a second.

“I felt very easy in the competition,” she said after the 1500m. “I followed and the last 200 metres, I finished strong. I didn’t push myself and I still finished very well in the sprint.”

Also on Sunday at this Continental Tour Gold meeting, Mondo Duplantis – a regular in Hengelo – cleared a meeting record of 6.11m but was unable to improve his world record to 6.23m.

“I’m just trying to focus on that gold medal and right now, I’m just going to go meet by meet, try to get a little bit better every time to make sure I’m nice and sharp for the big dance,” he said, looking forward to the World Championships in Budapest in August.

Daryll Neita and Reece Prescod scored sprints victories for Britain in the 100m races. The Italian-based training partners showed great early-season form as Prescod clocked a World Championships qualifying mark of 9.99 (0.4) ahead of Yohan Blake’s 10.05 with Raphael Bouju, a former English Schools winner who now runs for Netherlands, third in 10.09.

Neita, meanwhile, ran 11.05 (0.1) ahead of Bassant Hemida, the Egyptian running 11.16.

It was a near miss for another Brit in the men’s 1500m, though, as Elliot Giles was pipped to the post by Andrew Coscoran of Ireland – 3:37.97 to 3:38.00.

Grant Holloway and Nia Ali claimed sprint hurdles wins with Holloway running a meeting record 13.03 (0.4) and Ali 12.61 (0.2).

Elsewhere, Femke Bol was in commanding form on home soil in the flat 400m as she ran a meeting record of 50.11 to win comfortably.

Rising Italian star Mattia Furlani, 18, won the long jump with 8.24m (-0.7) while Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine won the women’s high jump with 2.00m.

Paris Saint-Germain are set to win the race to sign Manuel Ugarte from Sporting Club after making an improved offer that prompted Chelsea to pull out of the running, sources have told ESPN.

Both clubs were willing to trigger the midfielder's €60 million release clause, but Chelsea thought they had edged ahead of PSG by adding bonuses to make their bid more attractive.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

However, sources have told ESPN that PSG made a new bid which is "significantly more" than Chelsea's highest offer, with the Premier League club not willing to pay a figure they now believe to be above the market rate.

Sources have also denied reports that Chelsea offered to buy a stake in Sporting as part of the agreement.

Ugarte had been willing to join Chelsea but PSG are now in pole position and are in the process of finalising personal terms.

The move comes as something of a blow to new Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino, who is said to be a big admirer of Ugarte.

But the club's decision also may also mark a slight change of approach in the market with Chelsea showing more discipline in their dealings after spending around £600m on 17 players in the first year of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital's ownership.

DENVER -- Around 9 p.m. Saturday, Jimmy Butler was at a gym at the University of Colorado in Boulder working on his touch on shots near the rim. He'd had 48 hours to think about what had gone wrong for him and the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals just two days prior, and what he could do about it for Game 2.

Earlier in the day Saturday, Butler told the media he planned to try out an escape room in Denver that night and do "normal stuff" -- that is something he likes to do.

But when it came down to it, Butler did not run off to an escape room. He escaped to the gym instead, joined by his longtime trainer Chris Brickley.

"He just likes figuring things out," Brickley told ESPN. "When he's making those short shots, everything is different. So we worked on it."

Butler spent 30 minutes taking shots just to get his touch back.

"He needs to see the ball go in," Brickley said. "The games that he hasn't done that [before the game], he hasn't played well. He's big on that. It's a mental thing."

This is what Butler and the Heat have been doing during the eighth-seeded Heat's run to the NBA Finals -- figuring out what needs to be done to win and then going out and doing it.

Butler finished with 21 points in the Heat's 111-108 win against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night at Ball Arena to even these Finals at a game apiece. But it's how he did it -- being more aggressive at driving into the paint, taking 14 shots from inside 18 feet and drawing five free throws -- that mattered.

Compared to some of his other offensive heroics during these playoffs, it was a rather pedestrian stat line for Butler. But it was enough, and that's why the Heat have evened these Finals as the series heads back to Miami for Game 3 (Wednesday, 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC).

"We're so focused in on what we do well and who we are as a group that at the end of the day, that's what we fall back on," Butler said after Sunday's win. "Make or miss shots, we're going to be who we are because we're not worried about anybody else. That's how it's been all year long, and that's not going to change."

Who the Heat are is a team that keeps figuring out how to win games and series against teams that are heavily favored, no matter how gut-wrenching a loss they've just weathered (see Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals), how many player injuries they've endured (Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo) or how talented a superstar they've matched up with.

In this series, that superstar is two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who was sublime in recording his 15th career triple-double in the playoffs in Game 1.

Jokic controlled every facet of the series opener with brilliant playmaking and passing, finishing with 14 assists as the Heat sent multiple defenders and threw zone defenses at him. He took five shots before the fourth quarter, then started scoring to stem a Heat run and finished with 27 points.

In Game 2, the Heat changed their defensive approach on Jokic, allowing him to score more but limiting his ability to make plays for others.

Jokic read Miami's defense and scored 11 points in the first quarter and a game-high 41 on the night. But he finished with five turnovers and just four assists, and Denver has struggled when Jokic is not able to command its offense with his usual aplomb.

During the regular season, Denver went 3-7 when Jokic had fewer than six assists. As a team, the Nuggets had just six passes to players attacking the basket -- none of which came from Jokic -- their fewest in the playoffs, according to Second Spectrum.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra dismissed the characterization the Heat had simply chosen to turn Jokic into a scorer Sunday to take away his playmaking.

"That's a ridiculous -- that's the untrained eye that says something like that," Spoelstra said. "This guy is an incredible player. You know, twice in two seasons he's been the best player on this planet. You can't just say, 'Oh, make him a scorer.' That's not how they play. They have so many different actions that just get you compromised.

"We have to focus on what we do. We try to do things the hard way, and he requires you to do many things the hard way. He has our full respect."

Respect is one thing. Strategy and adjustments are another. Miami made a lot of those Sunday night (after Spoelstra had said "scheme is not going to save us" following Miami's Game 1 loss), inserting Kevin Love into its starting lineup for Caleb Martin and trying to disrupt Jokic's ability to facilitate for the Nuggets' other scorers. Jokic responded with more aggression, taking 28 shots, hitting 16 of them. But that's not always a good thing for the Nuggets.

The Nuggets are 0-3 when Jokic scores 40 or more points during the playoffs and 13-1 when he scores fewer than 40, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

"I mean, he's a hell of a player," Butler said. "He passes the ball so incredibly well. Obviously, he can score the ball like he did tonight. But when you get the opportunity to turn the ball over and get out into the open floor, I feel as though we have to do that, and we did a decent job of that today."

DENVER -- A disgusted Michael Malone called out the Denver Nuggets' effort following another fourth-quarter defensive no-show that allowed the Miami Heat to even the NBA Finals.

The Nuggets coach was incredulous after watching the Heat shoot 68.8% and score 36 points in the fourth quarter to take Game 2 111-108 at Ball Arena on Sunday night.

"Let's talk about effort," Malone said of the biggest issue plaguing Denver in Game 2. "This is the NBA Finals. We are talking about effort. That's a huge concern of mine. You guys probably thought I was just making up some storyline after Game 1 when I said we didn't play well. We didn't play well.

"Tonight, the starting lineup to start the game, it was 10-2 Miami. Start of the third quarter, they scored 11 points in [just over two minutes]. We had guys out there that were just, whether feeling sorry for themselves for not making shots or thinking they can just turn it on or off -- this is not the preseason, this is not the regular season. This is the NBA Finals. That, to me, is really, really perplexing, disappointing."

The Nuggets wasted a 41-point effort by Nikola Jokic in the loss. But Miami did something that has been successful for Nuggets' opponents this postseason: letting Jokic score but trying to take away his teammates.

Denver dropped to 0-3 this postseason when Jokic scores 40 or more points, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. The Nuggets are 13-1 when the two-time MVP scores fewer than 40 points.

Compared to Game 1, when Jokic had 10 assists but took only three shots by halftime, the center was more aggressive offensively on Sunday. He scored 18 points in the third quarter, but Miami made him work. If Game 1 was Jokic orchestrating a Nuggets offensive symphony in building a 24-point lead, the Heat made Game 2 feel like hand-to-hand combat for much of the outing.

"They just put us in their rhythm," Jokic said. "And we didn't want to play that way, and they want to, obviously. But maybe just to play a little bit faster is going to help us."

The Nuggets' free-flowing offense was disrupted by Miami's aggressive defense. Still, Jokic powered through the Heat in the third, giving the Nuggets an 83-75 lead entering the fourth.

"This is the NBA Finals. We are talking about effort. That's a huge concern of mine."

Nuggets coach Michael Malone

But that is when the game took a turn. Duncan Robinson, who was scoreless in the first three quarters, scored eight straight points then Gabe Vincent drilled a 3 to give Miami a one-point lead.

"They started the fourth quarter 13-2," Malone said. "To me, the wheels really fell off to start that fourth quarter. They were getting whatever they wanted, 3s, layups, and that allowed them once again to sit back in their zone offense, slow the game down, and we had a hard time getting stops -- and then we had a hard time getting made baskets on the other end.

"Our defense has to be a hell of a lot better. That's two fourth quarters, Game 1 and Game 2, where our fourth-quarter defense has been nonexistent."

The Nuggets drew Malone's ire during the film session following their Game 1 win as he pointed out how his team allowed Miami to shoot 60% and make 6 of 12 shots from behind the arc in the fourth quarter.

Following Game 2, Malone was upset about blown defensive assignments, fouls on jump-shooters and an overall lack of discipline from his team Sunday night, as Miami shot 11-for-16 in the fourth.

"Miami came in here and outworked us," Malone said. "And we were, by far, our least disciplined game of these 16 or 17 playoff games. So many breakdowns. They exploited every one of our breakdowns and scored. If we're going to try to go down there and regain control of this series and get home-court advantage back, we're going to have to outwork Miami, which we didn't do tonight, and our discipline is going to have to be off the charts."

Veteran Denver forward Jeff Green echoed his coach's frustration and was perplexed how the Nuggets could be so indifferent on defense in the fourth.

"It's the f---ing Finals, man," Green said. "Our energy has to be better. We can't come out like we did, and we have to be better."

Despite all that, the Nuggets still had a chance to send this game to overtime, but Jamal Murray's step-back 3-point attempt over Jimmy Butler ricocheted off the rim.

Now, the Nuggets must regroup after their first loss at home this postseason.

"If we play like that, then we expect to lose like that," said Murray, who had 18 points and 10 assists. "We can't play like that, if we play away, home, on the road, doesn't matter. We've got to have a better showing."