Miami Heat Channeling All The Greats, Including Kobe Bryant, Novak Djokovic Entering Game 5

After winning a 23rd Grand Slam tournament, tennis star Novak Djokovic simply said his mentality has been "believe it and create it."

The Miami Heat are taking the same approach into their situation entering Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets. They have spent the past few days making sure they are mentally prepared, taking advice from Djokovic and the late Kobe Bryant.

"Yeah, we were actually just reading that," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "(Djokovic) was talking about the Mamba Mentality. What a spectacular win and career. He's talked about that mental side of the game."

The "Mamba Mentality" was how Bryant approached the game during his playing career that led to five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant was among the most mentally prepared athletes in sports history.

The Heat are hoping his mantra can help them rally from a 3-1 deficit in the Finals.

"We have a very mentally tough team," Spoelstra said. "We do believe in that. We have a big goal and, from our standpoint, nothing has changed. It is extremely challenging to accomplish that ultimate title. We have a very stubborn and defiant group, and I think it's good to have a little bit of defiance from time to time."

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Shandel Richardson covers the Miami Heat for Inside The Heat.

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