Nikola Jovic’s summer league is over and other things to know from loss to Nuggets in Vegas

Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic’s second summer league is over.

Jovic sat out Thursday’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks for rest purposes and then missed Friday’s 112-81 summer league blowout loss to the Denver Nuggets after leaving Las Vegas to join the Serbian national team for World Cup preparations. He’ll also miss the Heat’s final summer league game on Sunday.

Jovic, who played in each of the Heat’s first four summer league games before missing the final three games, closed summer league with averages of 15 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 40 percent from the field and 5 of 15 (33.3 percent) from three-point range.

But take out Jovic’s rough three-point performance in his last summer league appearance and his averages jump to 19 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game this summer league.

Jovic opened this year’s summer league strong, totaling 43 points on 52 percent shooting from the field and 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) shooting on threes in his first two games at the California Classic.

Jovic, who turned 20 on June 9 and was drafted by the Heat with the 27th overall pick last year out of Serbia, was able to put his new physique to the test in summer league after adding about 20 pounds during over the last year. The results were positive for the 6-foot-11 Jovic, as he comfortably took the contact when in the paint to either draw the foul or finish over his defender and averaged 7.3 free-throw attempts game.

Now, Jovic will work to make the Serbian national team’s World Cup roster. The World Cup begins Aug. 25 and ends Sept. 10, and will be played in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.

“It means a lot,” Jovic said when asked about the possibility of representing Serbia in the World Cup. “We’re a small country and everybody is watching. People believe in us and want to see us win. … It’s a big thing and it will be a dream come true. The first time I watched basketball was the national team, so it’s a big thing.”

A deep World Cup run for Serbia would create a quick turnaround for Jovic, with NBA training camps opening in early October.

“It can help me a lot,” Jovic said of his extra work with the Serbian national team. “Because I’m going to end up going to training camp already prepared. So we’ll see, we’ll see. It’s going to be a long summer, but I feel like it’s going to be a good summer.”

All the while, the outside speculation continues that Jovic could be part of a Heat trade package for Portland Trail Blazers All-Star guard Damian Lillard.

“The NBA is a business,” Jovic said. “So, whatever happens happens. Of course, I would love to stay [with the Heat], I would love to stay with these guys. You’ve seen how much they’ve helped me this year, so I would love to be here. But we’ll see what happens. I’m just going to keep doing my thing and whatever happens happens.”

Here are some other observations from the Heat’s loss to the Nuggets in Las Vegas:

▪ Along with missing Jovic, the Heat’s summer league team was also without some of its other top players. Jaime Jaquez Jr., Orlando Robinson, Drew Peterson and Dru Smith were also held out Friday on the second night of a summer league back-to-back set.

Jaquez, who was selected with the 18th overall pick in last month’s draft, missed his fourth straight game with a left shoulder injury that he sustained during a summer league contest last week in Sacramento. With only game in Las Vegas remaining on the Heat’s schedule, it appears that Jaquez’s summer league is over.

In the only full game Jaquez played this summer league, he recorded 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and 3-of-7 shooting from three-point range in the Heat’s summer opener last week before hurting his shoulder in the next game.

▪ With so many out, forward Jamal Cain’s usage rate went up for the Heat’s summer league team on Friday.

But it was a rough shooting night for Cain, who remains a restricted free agent. He finished Friday’s loss with nine points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field and 1-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc after totaling 24 points in Thursday’s summer league win over the Bucks.

▪ Guard Jamaree Bouyea, who the Heat signed to a two-way contract, closed Friday’s loss with a team-high 20 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field and 1-of-4 shooting on threes to go with six rebounds and three assists.

He has totaled 35 assists to just 10 turnovers in the five summer league games he’s played in this year.

▪ The short-handed Heat opened Friday’s game with a lineup of Bouyea, Alondes Williams, Chase Audige, Cain and Patrick Gardner.

Gardner, who went undrafted this year out of Marist, was the only Heat player besides Bouyea who finished with double-digit points. The stretch big contributed 14 points with the help of 4-of-7 shooting from three-point range.

▪ The Heat now holds a 3-3 overall record in summer league and 2-2 record in Las Vegas Summer League.

The Heat entered Friday’s matchup against the Nuggets with the chance to qualify for the Las Vegas Summer League final four, but the ugly loss ended Miami’s chances at a summer league championship.