Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic trolled Houston Rockets winger Dillon Brooks after Serbia beat Canada in the 2023 FIBA World Cup semifinals.
Brooks, who is a part of Canada’s national team, was ejected from the team’s game against Slovenia earlier this week, and he jokingly wore boxing gloves in the tunnel after the game. Brooks was ejected for taunting after making a shot in the fourth quarter of the game.
Jovic responded by throwing air punches in the tunnel after Serbia knocked Canada out in the semifinals.
It’s pretty funny to see the Heat forward take a shot at Brooks, and he’s certainly hoping that Serbia can carry the momentum from Friday’s 95-86 win into the championship game.
Serbia will play the winner of the United States-Germany matchup in the finals. That game is also being played on Friday morning, so Jovic and company should know their opponent shortly.
Jovic was solid in Serbia’s semifinal win, going 4-for-4 from the field to score eight points. He also added a rebound and one assist.
This isn’t the first time Jovic has been perfect from the field during a World Cup game. He also did that against South Sudan, finishing with a much bigger performance.
Jovic finished that game with 25 points (9-for-9 from the field, 5-for-5 from beyond the arc), two rebounds and three assists to lead Serbia to a 115-83 victory. If he can put together another performance like that in the championship game, Serbia may win the World Cup.
He was Miami’s first-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft (27th overall). During his rookie season, Jovic only appeared in 15 games for the Heat. He showcased some of his talent, averaging 5.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game while shooting 40.6 percent from the field.
He also played in the G League last season, averaging 12.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. The 20-year-old forward showed that he can shoot the ball at a high level in those games, hitting 46.7 percent of his shots from the field and 34.5 percent of them from beyond the arc.
It will be interesting to see if Brooks remembers Jovic’s troll job when the Heat and Rockets face off in the 2023-24 NBA regular season.