Navarro: When these Finals end, Pat Riley needs to go get Damian Lillard

MIAMI — The Heat still have a pulse.

If we’ve learned anything in these playoffs, you don’t count Jimmy Butler and Erik Spoelstra out. You can’t.

But I’m going to go ahead and say the quiet part out loud. It’s what some Miami fans were probably thinking even before a second consecutive double-digit home loss put the Nuggets on the brink of winning their first championship.

This summer, Pat Riley has to go get a whale, and it needs to be Damian Lillard.

I apologize this isn’t some deep analytical dive. Getting a really good player and having a better shot at winning a championship next year isn’t rocket science. But this feels like a layup the Heat have to make — especially if Lillard really wants to come here.

In case you missed it, the 32-year-old seven-time All-Star was asked earlier this week where he’d like to play if Portland decides to trade him this summer. The Heat were the first of two teams Lillard dropped from his lips. And after this series ends, Riley has to go make that happen.

As fun as Miami’s playoff run has been — with a bunch of undrafted players doing a lot of heavy lifting in upsets of the Bucks, Knicks and Celtics — there’s a reason Denver can close out the series Monday night at home.

It’s not only because the Nuggets have more size and depth. Mike Malone has the two best offensive players on the floor in this series. Nikola Jokic is an unstoppable force, and Jamal Murray is blossoming into one.

Lillard still is one of those prolific weapons, and he’s hungry to win a championship. He’s clutch and hits ridiculous long-distance 3-pointers from near half court that leave you shaking your head. On the Heat, he would instantly become the No. 1 offensive option, something Butler at his core doesn’t necessarily want to be. Butler shouldn’t have to carry that burden every night. Lillard could, would and should.

Joel Embiid and Luka Doncic were the only players who scored more points than Lillard during the regular season. He averaged 32 points and 7.3 assists a game. Butler led Miami with nearly 23 points a game — good for 33rd in the league.

You might have forgotten, but the Heat averaged the fewest points in the league during the regular season. And that was with a healthy Tyler Herro dropping 20 points a night.

With Herro out for all but 19 minutes of these playoffs, Miami’s had to conjure up big nights from Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin to survive and advance. That became easier against the top-seeded Bucks with Giannis Antetokounmpo out for half the series; against a Knicks team with only one real scoring option; and after Jayson Tatum was injured on the first play in Game 7 against Boston.

But against a team as talented, deep and well coached as the Nuggets — with two offensive threats who can make a basket or create one pretty much whenever they want — it’s a much tougher hill to climb.

Riley knows this. He knows MVPs and All-Stars win championships….