MIAMI (AP) — Nikola Jovic will miss at least the next four weeks with a broken bone in his right hand, the Miami Heat announced Tuesday, a blow to the team's hopes of securing a guaranteed playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Jovic broke the second metacarpal in his hand during Sunday's game at Milwaukee and was diagnosed with the fracture at halftime. He didn't play on Monday at Atlanta and was evaluated by Heat chief of hand surgery Elizabeth Ann Ouellette and team physician Harlan Selesnick on Tuesday, after which the four-week timetable was determined.
Jovic will wear a splint until he's re-evaluated, the team said.
"I feel for Niko," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said when the injury happened. “I know how much he's put into this.”
The Heat host Atlanta on Wednesday.
The four-week timetable suggests that Jovic — who is averaging 10.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game this season — will miss at least 15 more games, with the earliest possible return being March 25 when the Heat host former Miami forward Jimmy Butler and the Golden State Warriors.
The Heat are 11-5 this season when Jovic scores at least 14 points. Miami entered Tuesday ninth in the East, five games behind Detroit in the race for sixth and the last guaranteed playoff spot.
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Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
