Nikola Jovic admits that he is slowly adapting to the attack after the night of his career

ByNBAUSA


MIAMI – While it is The new and improved Miami Heat offense was once again on display in Saturday night’s 136-131 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, and the highlight of the night was the performance Nikola Jovic. As Running back captain Bam Adebayo remains sidelined with a toe injury, Jovic was ready to lead the team in an up-tempo attack, but it wasn’t always easy for the 22-year-old.

J0vic would score 29 points and make 10 field goals, both career highs, along with nine rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a block. He made full use of the free-flowing attack that Miami prides himself on this season, but Jovic admitted after the win that in the past two weeks “I felt like everything I did was wrong.”

“I thought it would be much easier, I would be lying if I said the last two weeks were easy, because I felt that everything I did was wrong and I wasn’t helping this team at all,” Jovic said. “I want to thank the coaches and everyone from the team who somehow supported me and let me know that I was important to the team. But my head was just not there. I didn’t know how to help the team.”

But you see how everyone looks better, not just me, but everyone else,” continued Jovic. “It’s an easy way to play basketball, and I think it suits us really well, because we don’t have a guy who needs the ball a lot, who needs a lot of use, and that’s what helps us. So I feel like we’re just playing for each other, and I feel like that’s the right way to play this sport.”

Heat’s Nikola Jovic on what led to a career night

Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic (5) is fouled by Portland Trail Blazers forward Toumani Kamara (33) in the first quarter at Kaseja Center.
Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Coming off Big win for the Heat over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday, the team ends its streak with its second straight win and fourth straight at home, as they are currently undefeated at the Kaseia Center. Aided by Miami’s new offense and Jovic’s determination to go downhill, play freely and fill the stats, he would go on to admit that mentally and physically, “felt bad” originally.

However, the offense got to him on Saturday night, explaining to ClutchPoints that he didn’t “relying only on myself” towards the end of his career, in which he brought a ton of positional versatility.

“I think I don’t just rely on myself and I let the flow of the game help me find my rhythm, and because of the way we play,” Jovic said. “It should be like that. You know, I should be getting the ball on random possessions, ran cuts, you know, getting some easy points, so that’s what I did, my team started me, and it’s as simple as that.”

Warming up the head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke about Jovićeva “assertiveness” against Portland, saying his “will” was felt throughout the contest.

“I liked his energy, I liked his intent,” Spoelstra said. “He was assertive, aggressive on both ends of the court. You know, you can choose to float or you can choose to put your will into the game. And it’s not about how many points you score. It’s about imposing your will in the game, and you felt his will in the game. … I just like the assertiveness tonight.”

Either way, Jovic and Miami are looking to build on this performance as the team looks to make it three straight and five straight at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday.





2025-11-09 05:49:00

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