Before the Ball Arena crowd could let out a collective groan, Bruce Brown gave them a reason to cheer — and the cheering likely won’t stop for quite some time in the Mile High City.

Brown had made just three of his 13 shot attempts in the first 46 minutes of Game 5 of the NBA Finals, but just like he has been in his first (and likely only) season in Denver, he was right where he needed to be at the right time.

With the Nuggets trailing by one with a little over a minute and a half remaining, Jamal Murray hoisted up a fadeaway jumper that clanked off the rim, but there was Brown to grab the offensive rebound and lay the ball in to give Denver a 90-89 lead. 

Just like everyone else on the Nuggets during this playoff run, he wouldn’t take the credit.

“I got the bucket because of (Aaron Gordon),” Brown said. “They had two on him (and) they forgot about me, so kudos to AG.”

That shot proved to be the game-winner as the Nuggets captured their first championship in franchise history with a 94-89 win over the Heat on Monday night.

“I’m glad coach (Michael Malone) took me out and put him in,” Michael Porter Jr., who was subbed out for Brown just a few minutes earlier, said with a laugh.

Shortly after the go-ahead bucket, Brown grabbed a missed 3-pointer by Miami and drilled two big free throws to ice the game.

“Bruce has been huge for us all playoffs,” Porter Jr. said. “That’s what this team is about. We’re really selfless. As long as we win the games, no one really cares.”

As the final seconds wound off the clock, he took it all in before eventually sharing a fitting embrace with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as the final buzzer sounded as the two key offseason acquisitions that helped deliver this championship shared a long embrace.

“This is why me and KCP came here this offseason,” Brown said. “This is what we wanted to do, this is what we envisioned. Just a great ending.

“Since day one in training camp in San Diego, we knew we could do this.”

While Brown will likely take the rest of the week to celebrate, he doesn’t have long before he needs to make a decision on his future.

Brown signed a one-year contract with the Nuggets last offseason that included a player option for the following season worth just under $7 million, but with how Brown has played over the last two months he’s suddenly worth a whole lot more than that.

Throw in the fact that the Nuggets can only offer him 120% of his salary from this season (less than $8 million per year) and there’s a good chance he signs a big contract in free agency next month.

But that’s for next month.

Monday night and the parade on Thursday and all of the other celebrations in between are about this season. 

“I’m going to take a little time off,” Brown said of his offseason. “Drink a lot of Jameson and gin juice… and be with my dog.”

Oh, and there will be some time to golf with KCP, too.

“We’re going to play golf the whole summer,” Caldwell-Pope said. “That’s what’s next for me and Bruce.”

Maybe the next couple rounds will be on Brown — his teammates certainly seem to know what’s coming for a guy who in less than 12 months has gone from someone who had very little contact offers due to a misconception of what he was as a player to a major contributor on a championship-winning team.

“We’re excited for him because he’s going to get paid,” Porter Jr. said.

“Stop playing, my man (about to) get a bag,” Gordon said a few minutes later with Brown sitting right next to him.

So much for a guy who was told to stand in the corner and wait for the ball to come to him in Brooklyn.