Miami Heat's Jaime Jaquez Jr. Brings Defense In Return From Injury To The Lineup

Miguel Mike Medina | Nov 11, 2024

Nov 10, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) drives to the basket past Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid (11) in the second half at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images / Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr returned to the team after missing time due to stomach illness.

Jaquez finished with seven points on 3 of 7 shooting, five rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block in 16 minutes against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“It felt great to be out there,” Jaquez said. “I’ve been itching to get back, been feeling good. Just continue to keep working and try to do whatever I can to help this team win.” 

Jaquez’s major contributions came on the defensive end. He was part of the reason the Timberwolves were held to under 100 points.  

“I think we did what we needed to do on defense and I think it just even shows where we are as a team and how much more we can even grow,” Jaquez said. “We got so many stops and things we could have converted on and put leads, but regardless, we still battled back and kept our heads in it and came out of here with the W. So it feels good to do that.” 

Jaquez also praised Nikola Jovic's performance.

“I’m really proud of this guy right here to my left,” Jaquez said. “I just kept telling him, man, don’t focus on anything else but just get a rebound, and that’s what he did tonight and obviously the big finish at the end. He worked so hard, man, and you know, just really happy for him to have this night.” 

Miguel Mike Medina is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com

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