The Miami Heat were struck with a terrifying dose of injury misfortune on Monday night.
In the early going of their contest against the Toronto Raptors, fourth-year forward Nikola Jović went down hard with an apparent arm injury after attempting to throw down a monster dunk with 3:38 remaining in the first quarter.
The contact with Toronto's rookie forward Collin Murray-Boyles on the attempt led to a crash-landing for Jović, leaving the 22-year-old writhing in pain.
Jovič would leave the contest after just 12 seconds of burn, and a new update from the Heat confirmed the nature of his injury.
"UPDATE: Nikola Jovic (right elbow injury) will not return to tonight's game," the team shared via X on Monday night.
In 18 contests prior to what has been deemed an elbow injury, Jović had been experiencing a down year from an efficiency standpoint after signing a four-year, $62.4 million contract extension with the Miami this past offseason.
Heading into the matchup against the Raptors, the versatile 6-foot-10 forward had contributed 7.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists on a horrid 50.7% true shooting percentage.
With the Heat beginning to idle after a hot start to the new campaign and a core piece of their bench rotation potentially missing a sizable stretch of time, the franchise must maintain a 'next man up' mentality to remain competitive in the Eastern Conference.
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