MILWAUKEE, Feb 14, (AP): Nikola Jovic kept on working and waiting for his chance even as he struggled to earn playing time over the last few weeks.
When Jovic returned to the Miami Heat's starting lineup , the 20-year-old responded by scoring a career-high 24 points in a 123-97 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Not bad for a player who entered having played a total of three minutes since Jan. 27.
"I know how much work I need to put in to be able to play,” Jovic said. "It feels great.”

Miami's Bam Adebayo had his second triple-double of the season with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. Duncan Robinson scored 23 points for the Heat, who never trailed despite playing without Jimmy Butler, who remains on personal leave following the death of a relative.
The Heat also were missing Josh Richardson due to a dislocated right shoulder and Terry Rozier because of a sprained right knee.

"You talk about the guys we’re plugging in to play, they’ve all played a bunch of quality minutes,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It’s not as if you’re playing guys where you’re not really sure whether they can impact winning. These guys have done that. They’ve earned that. They’ve proven that. We have a bunch of competitors in our locker room.”