MIAMI >> How rare is Christian Braun?

According to ESPN Stats and Information, he’s the youngest player in NBA Finals history to put up at least 15 points in under 20 minutes.

“I mean, the guys just trusted me all year,” Braun said after his second-half showcase — 15 points and four rebounds in 19 minutes — in the Nuggets’ Game 3 win Wednesday night. “So when I get in the game, I try to defend, do the little things … obviously, (the stars) make it easier on me, my job’s not very hard.”

He made it look pretty easy in Game 3. Easy and fearless.

“He showed up with that,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said of his first-year wing out of Kansas. “That young man, when you win three straight high school state championships and when you win (collegiate) national championships — he’s very confident. He should be … we believe in him, we drafted him, he’s everything we hoped for and more.”

Braun announced his presence in a big way with 8:32 left in the game, crashing the lane and dribbling with his left hand while bodying Heat star Jimmy Butler not once, but twice, with his right shoulder. The bumps discombobulated Butler so much that the Kansas native had enough space to bank the rock off the backboard with his right hand and give the visitors a 93-72 lead.

That followed a sequence earlier in the game when he scored in the lane, got back on defense, picked off a Butler pass and took it the other way for a two-handed jam.

“I don’t know what chain they give out after the game,” ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy quipped late in the broadcast, “but it better be given to Christian Braun.”

Braun’s previous playoff scoring high was nine points, in Game 3 of the Minnesota series. The former Jayhawk finished only four points off his regular-season high (19 points), which also came against the Timberwolves.

“Yeah, I mean, Christian has proven himself all year long,” Malone continued. “And he’s in the rotation to end the season, he’s been in the rotation through these 18 playoff games now, and if you look around, there’s no many rookies playing meaningful minutes in the NBA at this time of year.

“It speaks to Christian’s confidence. It speaks to him being a winner, he’s been a winner at every level. He’s stayed mentally ready the whole year — very calm, cool, collected young man. (Tonight), I just felt the confidence oozing out of him.”

How rare is CB?

Aaron Gordon laughed at the very question. But in a good way.

“It’s rare,” the veteran said of the rookie sitting to his right. “He’s very rare … That’s a rare rookie right there, man. From Day 1, he’s been on top of it. This is a real winner right here. And I say that because he’s always in the right spot, he’s in the right place at the right time. He’s been doing that all year. He’s been doing that from Day 1. And nothing’s changed (since then). “