Heat’s Nikola Jovic ‘felt like everything I did was wrong’ at start of season before breakout game
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra’s pregame message to Heat forward Nikola Jovic was evident in Spoelstra’s postgame comments.
“I liked his energy, I liked his intent,” Spoelstra said when asked about Jovic’s career performance in Saturday night’s 136-131 win over the Portland Trail Blazers at Kaseya Center to reach the 10-game mark at 6-4 and improve to 4-0 at home. “He was assertive, aggressive on both sides of the court. You can choose to float, or you can choose to insert your will on a game. It’s not about how many points you score, it’s about imposing your will on a game And you felt his will on the game. ... I just liked the assertiveness tonight.”
After an underwhelming start to the season that included seven single-digit scoring outings through the Heat’s first nine games, Miami’s 10th game was Jovic’s best of the season and arguably the best of his young NBA career.
Jovic, who is early in his fourth NBA season, totaled a career-high 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field, 3-of-7 shooting from three-point range and 6-of-8 shooting from the foul line to go with nine rebounds, six assists, two steals and one block in 31 minutes off the Heat’s bench during Saturday’s victory over the Trail Blazers.
“I would have lied if I said that the last two weeks were easy because I felt like everything I did was wrong, and I was not helping this team at all,” Jovic said following his breakout night, referring to his quiet start to the season. “And I want to thank the coaches and everybody from the team for supporting me and letting me know that I’m important for the team. But my head just wasn’t there. I didn’t know how to help the team.”
Jovic, 22, entered Saturday averaging 8.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game while shooting just 40.7% from the field and 33.3% on threes through the Heat’s first nine games this season. He also has been moved to a reserve role after playing as a starter in the season opener.
What led to Jovic’s struggles through the first two-plus weeks of the season?
Was it the pressure from signing a four-year, $62.4 million contract extension with the Heat last month? Did the Heat’s new up-tempo offense take some time for Jovic to get used to?
Jovic isn’t sure. He just knows he hasn’t been good enough early this season prior to Saturday’s career-best scoring display.
“I don’t know. I really don’t know where it came from,” Jovic said when asked to explain his early-season struggles, as the Heat looks to remain undefeated at home this season on Monday against the Cleveland Cavaliers (7:30 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun). “I really don’t know how to explain it. Mentally, I wasn’t good. Physically, I felt bad. I feel like everything I did was wrong, like I said. But it just came out of nowhere. And you can see through the games, I just wasn’t helping myself. I looked worse and worse. And, you know, it’s obvious that I wasn’t playing great basketball.”
The only blemish on Jovic’s stat line on Saturday were his team-high six turnovers. A moment of poor shot selection also angered Spoelstra.
With 49.6 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Jovic found himself in an isolation situation and put up a heat-check three-pointer. But the deep stepback three didn’t even reach the front of the rim, resulting in an air ball that landed out of bounds and gave possession back to the Trail Blazers late in a close game.
“I gave him a hard time that last iso, he did a double stepback, James Harden three,” Spoelstra said. “I would have liked to see what happened if he imposed his will on that possession. That’s a growth opportunity. He hasn’t been in that situation very often, where we just say open and you create a play for us. But I think he would have gotten into the paint and made the right play. But I just liked the assertiveness tonight.”
There was a lot to like about Jovic’s performance on Saturday, with Heat veteran guard Norman Powell pushing and encouraging him along the way.
“Young guys, they worry about the other things,” Powell said. “All of the missed shots, the turnovers, they get upset when they don’t make a play, that they feel like they should have shot or passed. They’re very selfless guys. But they get down on themselves a little bit, especially Niko. So just staying in his ear throughout the course of the game, before and after. Keeping him positive and not focusing on the mistakes.
“I told him after the first time out, I don’t want to see his body language go down when he makes a bad play, turnover, missed shot or whatever. Stay even keel, it’s a long game and he’s too talented for that. I thought he did a great job tonight. Staying with it in attack mode, reading the game, getting to his spots, and making the plays that were in front of him.”
Jovic, who was taken by the Heat with the 27th overall pick in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft, has high hopes for himself after averaging career highs in points (10.7 per game), assists (2.8) and minutes (25.1) last season and impressing with the Serbian national team during the EuroBasket tournament this past offseason. The Heat has high hopes for Jovic, too.
“I’m really happy for him,” Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. said. “He’s been playing great, working so hard, and he’s due for a night like that. He’s really a guy that can bring this team to the next level. Just keep continuing to feed confidence into him. He’s an incredible player, and he showed that tonight.”
INJURY REPORT
Heat center Bam Adebayo (left big toe sprain) will miss his third straight game on Monday against the visiting Cavaliers.
The Heat also remains without Tyler Herro (left ankle surgery), Terry Rozier (not with team), Myron Gardner (G League) and Jahmir Young (G League) against the Cavaliers. Dru Smith is probable with a right knee contusion.
This story was originally published November 9, 2025 at 10:49 AM.
