Nikola Jovic On Heat-Rockets Fight: "I'm Not Letting Anyone Throw My Guy Around"

Dec 29, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic (5) shoots outside against the Houston Rockets during the third quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images
Dec 29, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic (5) shoots outside against the Houston Rockets during the third quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images / Erik Williams-Imagn Images
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Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic learned one important lesson while growing up in Serbia.

Always protect the family.

That's exactly what Jovic did when teammate Tyler Herro got into a scuffle Sunday with Amen Thompson late in the Heat's 104-100 victory against the Houston Rockets. Jovic was one of the first to come protect "family."

"All these guys, they're like brothers to me," Jovic said in the postgame interview with FanDuel Sports Network. "One thing I learned from back home is that we've got to keep our families together and we've got to stay close. I'm not letting anyone throw my guy around. Tyler stood his ground. Unfortunately, he got thrown out."

It all started with the Heat ahead 101-94 with 35 seconds remaining. While guard Terry Rozier was inbounding the ball, Herro and Thompson got entangled near the free throw line. It ended with Thompson throwing Herro to the ground, causing a near brawl.

Rozier was the closest to Herro, so he was the first to intervene. Then Jovic made his way to the altercation from the other side of the court. After the smoke cleared, Herro and Thompson were ejected. So were Rockets guard Jalen Green, coach Ime Udoke and assistant Ben Sullivan. Rozier was also tossed.

The win helped the Heat bounce back from Saturday's loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Herro led the way with 27 points, nine assists and six rebounds.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here