DENVER, Colo. — Miami guard Tyler Herro did not play in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, even though the Heat upgraded his status to questionable and the team could have used his scoring on the brink of elimination on Monday night.

Herro had not played since breaking his right hand in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Milwaukee Bucks. He has recovered from surgery to repair the fractures and has been doing on-court work for several days in an effort to get back on the court.

He was listed as out for Game 5 when the initial Heat injury report for the game was released Sunday. The Heat upgraded him on Monday morning in Denver.

“You have to go through stages,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said last week when discussing Herro’s return. “First part of it was just shooting, then movement, then contact versus coaches and then the next level of contact in practice.”

Miami ended up losing the best-of-seven championship series 4-1 with a 94-89 loss Monday night. It is Denver's first NBA title.

Herro also missed some time in last season’s playoffs with a groin injury. It sidelined him for three games of the East finals against Boston, before he returned for Game 7 and struggled in what became the final game of the season for the Heat.