Heat Mascot Sent to ER After Conor McGregor Punch During Game 4 Skit, per Report

The anthropomorphic fireball was injured midway through Miami's loss to the Nuggets.

A rough NBA Finals for the Heat grew rougher Saturday afternoon as news broke that the team reportedly suffered a key injury.

Miami's mascot, Burnie, was taken to the emergency room after a skit with ex-UFC fighter Conor McGregor during the Heat's 108-95 loss to the Nuggets in Game 4, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic.

Per Amick, the man who plays Burnie was given pain medication and has since been discharged from the hospital.

Burnie, an anthropomorphic fireball with a basketball for a nose, has been Miami's mascot since the franchise's founding in 1988.

During the skit Friday night, McGregor knocked Burnie out cold while promoting his pain relief spray, drawing boos from the crowd during a game where Denver took a 3–1 lead.

McGregor, 34, held the UFC's featherweight championship from 2015 to ’16 and its lightweight championship from ’16 to ’18.


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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .