Jaquez Jr. suffers a left thigh strain

After leading his team in the first half against the Hornets, rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. suffered an injury and did not return for the game with the Miami Heat in the second half of the game.

MIAMI – After scoring 15 points in 15 minutes of play in the first half, Mexican-American Jaime Jaquez Jr. strained his left thigh and left the Miami Heat's game against the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night.

The team announced on social media that Jaquez Jr. left the Hornets game, after leading his team in points in the first two quarters.

The Heat guard will not travel for the two-game road trip that begins Monday at the Brooklyn Nets and continues Wednesday at the Toronto Raptors.

#CHAvsMIA INJURY UPDATE: Jaime Jaquez Jr. left tonight's game against the Hornets with a left groin strain. He won't come back.

– Miami Heat (@MiamiHEAT) January 15, 2024

Jaquez Jr. suffered a similar injury before the start of the season, but he does not think it is serious.

“Things slowly started to go wrong during the game,” Jaquez Jr. said. “I don’t think it’s that serious, but we’re looking at a lot of precautions right now.”

Jaquez Jr. played as a starter, hitting 7 of 11 shots at the basket, and had five rebounds, two assists and a steal. He did not have any three-pointers and scored his only penalty shot of the game.

Jáquez Jr has been one of the greatest discoveries of the season and has already been nominated for Rookie of the Month. In 38 games, he averaged 30.6 minutes and 14 points per game, hitting 51% of his shots, with 3.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists, in addition to 0.7 steals.

In the end, the Heat achieved a landslide victory over the Hornets 104-87.