Jaquez beaming after experiencing sister’s feat. And Heat injury, personnel news
A fortuitous break in the Heat’s schedule allowed Jaime Jaquez Jr. to forge a lifetime memory on Sunday.
Jaquez traveled to Phoenix on Saturday and then returned to Miami on a red-eye Sunday night after watching his sister Gabriela help lead UCLA to a 79-51 win over South Carolina in the NCAA women’s basketball championship on Sunday afternoon.
“Really happy I was able to be there,” Jaquez said. “Such a special moment.”
Gabriela Jaquez led all players in the game with 21 points, to go along with 10 rebounds, five assists and a steal.
“For her to carve her own path was something,” her proud brother said. “Her goals when she was in third grade, writing down UCLA basketball player, and now she’s a UCLA champion. Really happy for her.”
And Jaquez also was happy “that schedule-wise, it all worked out. I flew right after the game against Washington on Saturday, got to Phoenix around 10:50, saw some of the family.”
He arrived back in Miami at 5 a.m. Monday and practiced six hours later, mostly running on adrenaline. “I feel like I won a championship,” he said. The Heat had Sunday off, so Jaquez did not miss any practices.
Jaquez would rank Sunday as Gabriela’s best game that he has witnessed.
“Got to be No. 1 for sure,” he said. “She had pretty incredible ones in high school. See her drop 50. This one, just the determination and the will in this game was unbelievable.”
Sunday also further cemented the UCLA legacy of the Jaquez siblings; Jaime previously helped lead UCLA to a Final 4 appearance.
“This is something that is going to stand the test of time, at least for my sister. Once you put [a banner] in the rafters, it will hang there forever. For her and our family, it means a lot to have an imprint on such an historic program and institution as UCLA.”
Jaquez needs 97 points over Miami’s final four games to break Tyler Herro’s record for most bench points in a season (1,162 in 2021-22).
Availability update
Guard Norman Powell has been cleared to play Tuesday at Toronto (7:30 p.m., FanDuel Sports Sun) after missing three games with a respiratory illness and one game while working back into game condition. Erik Spoelstra said he will be available. Powell has missed 23 games this season.
Guard Tyler Herro, who missed Saturday’s game for personal reasons, practiced Monday and is available for Tuesday’s game.
Nikola Jovic, who sustained a sprained ankle on Saturday against Washington, was the only player who did not practice on Monday.
▪ The three 150-point games in Heat franchise history have all happened in the past calendar year: 152 against Washington this past Saturday, 150 against the Wizards in Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game on March 10 and 153 against New Orleans on April 11 of last year.
▪ The Heat’s 22 40-point quarters this season are the most in franchise history. Miami remains on pace to lead the Eastern Conference in points per game for a fourth time and the first time since 2013-14, LeBron James’ last season in Miami.
The Heat had never led the NBA in scoring; it entered Monday No. 2 at 120.8, trailing Denver (121.6).
▪ Even with the 83-point game against Washington, Adebayo is a long shot to finish with the highest single-season scoring average against an opponent in Heat history.
Dwyane Wade averaged 42.3 in three games against the Knicks in 2008-09. Adebayo is averaging 39.7 in three games against the Wizards heading into Miami’s game at Washington on Friday.
Here’s my Monday piece with everything to know on the Heat’s situation regarding the play-in, the playoffs and the NBA draft lottery.
This story was originally published April 6, 2026 at 1:31 PM.
