Nikola Jokic injury overshadows Heat blowout in Miami

If someone were to say that Nikola Jokic is going to start 2026 a little worn down, no one would be surprised. The Serbian never stops – multiplying himself, fighting against everything and everyone to prove, day after day, why he is the best player in the world, the best of the past five years and one of the greatest of all time. So much travel, so many games, some of them going to overtime, and so many triple-doubles would take their toll on anyone – but not on the Serbian giant, hardened by a thousand battles, a three-time NBA MVP and an NBA champion. And those are just a handful of the countless entries in a résumé that is overwhelming, fearsome, and still adding new pages, driven by a man intertwined with miracle, legend and history. A pure-blooded Balkan.

The Nuggets traveled to Florida to face a Heat team living hand in hand with the inherent inconsistency of the Eastern Conference – though at least on the positive side of the line. With the tireless Erik Spoelstra at the helm, wins and losses were coming in equal measure as they flirted with what is likely to define their entire season: the play-in spots and the positions that spare you from that preliminary round the NBA invented during the pandemic and which is clearly here to stay. From there, if they are still alive come April, the legendary coach will no doubt conjure something up to get through playoff rounds – as he has done before, as unexpectedly as it was deserved (2020, 2023…). But that is still a long way off, and first they have to stay afloat and rack up as many wins as possible before judgment day arrives, whenever that may be.

Still, regardless of where either team stood, no one could have predicted what was about to happen. Just over 19 minutes into the game, Nikola Jokic went down injured, clutching his left knee on the floor before heading down the tunnel to the locker room. A huge blow, with the exact severity still unknown, but with everyone instinctively fearing the worst. Head coach David Adelman said as much in his postgame press conference, explaining that they would know more as soon as possible, offering the familiar refrain that this is the NBA, and adding that Jokic himself had a terrible feeling about what had happened. These are the moments that can change everything – misfortunes no one deserves, but also the kind of cruel randomness to which anyone is exposed in the world’s best league. Even the stars.

That is why the final score barely mattered, even though the Heat claimed an emphatic win (147–123). Jokic had already posted – remarkably – 21 points, five rebounds and eight assists at the time of his injury, and was almost his team’s best player despite the early exit. Jamal Murray finished with 20 points and 11 assists. For the Florida side, who led by as many as 27, eight players scored in double figures, with special mention for Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s 20 points and 11 assists, and Norman Powell’s 25. The home team scored 18 points in transition, poured in 41 points in the first quarter and 47 in the third, shot better than 53% from the field and nearly 48% from three. A dominant display in a game that delivered a win – but one that will be remembered for something else entirely. For Nikola Jokic’s injury, plain and simple. That’s how it goes.

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Miami Heat

Stats

13 Bam Adebayo
22 Andrew Wiggins
7 Kel'el Ware
45 Davion Mitchell
24 Norman Powell
11 Jaime Jaquez Jr.
9 Pelle Larsson
12 Dru Smith
5 Nikola Jović
16 Keshad Johnson
25 Kasparas Jakucionis
15 Myron Gardner
0 Simone Fontecchio

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
13 Bam Adebayo	21	13	10	3	7	4	2	1	0	2/2	4/8	1/2	0	3	0
22 Andrew Wiggins	31	19	5	1	4	6	0	3	3	3/4	2/3	4/7	0	2	0
7 Kel'el Ware	23	19	9	5	4	0	0	1	0	0/0	5/6	3/6	0	1	0
45 Davion Mitchell	31	10	3	0	3	9	3	0	1	0/0	2/4	2/4	0	4	0
24 Norman Powell	27	25	1	1	0	4	3	1	0	4/4	6/8	3/8	0	1	0
11 Jaime Jaquez Jr.	27	20	3	1	2	11	0	0	0	3/6	7/9	1/2	0	0	0
9 Pelle Larsson	15	3	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/2	1/3	0	2	0
12 Dru Smith	21	11	4	0	4	1	1	2	0	1/1	2/2	2/4	0	3	0
5 Nikola Jović	25	22	4	0	4	5	0	0	0	3/3	2/4	5/8	0	3	0
16 Keshad Johnson	3	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	1/4	0/1	0	1	0
25 Kasparas Jakucionis	3	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
15 Myron Gardner	3	0	3	2	1	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/3	0/0	0	1	0
0 Simone Fontecchio	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3/3	0/0	0/1	0	1	0

Denver Nuggets

Stats

21 Spencer Jones
8 Peyton Watson
15 Nikola Jokić
10 Tim Hardaway Jr.
27 Jamal Murray
11 Bruce Brown
22 Zeke Nnaji
3 Julian Strawther
17 Jonas Valančiūnas
14 DaRon Holmes II
5 Hunter Tyson
24 Jalen Pickett
1 Curtis Jones

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
21 Spencer Jones	33	16	3	0	3	1	0	3	1	1/2	0/1	5/5	0	3	0
8 Peyton Watson	31	11	2	0	2	1	1	1	1	3/4	4/8	0/2	0	3	0
15 Nikola Jokić	19	21	5	2	3	8	2	0	0	2/3	8/10	1/4	0	1	0
10 Tim Hardaway Jr.	28	16	3	1	2	2	0	0	0	2/3	4/7	2/6	0	1	0
27 Jamal Murray	34	20	6	1	5	11	2	1	0	0/0	7/15	2/6	0	0	0
11 Bruce Brown	25	15	5	1	4	2	2	0	0	0/0	6/7	1/2	0	4	0
22 Zeke Nnaji	9	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2/2	1/1	0/0	0	4	0
3 Julian Strawther	14	4	1	0	1	1	1	0	0	4/4	0/2	0/1	0	0	0
17 Jonas Valančiūnas	15	6	4	1	3	1	2	0	1	0/0	3/3	0/0	0	3	0
14 DaRon Holmes II	8	4	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	4/4	0/0	0/0	0	1	0
5 Hunter Tyson	6	2	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0/0	1/1	0/2	0	0	0
24 Jalen Pickett	6	2	2	0	2	1	0	0	1	0/0	1/1	0/0	0	0	0
1 Curtis Jones	6	2	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0/0	1/2	0/3	0	1	0