MINNEAPOLIS —Typically the decision for Erik Spoelstra is simple when it comes to finding a Miami Heat bench boost: Turn to this left, summon Jaime Jaquez Jr., and let the sixth-man scoring ensue amid this 20-16 season.

In Sunday night’s 125-106 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans at Kaseya Center, with Jaquez sidelined by an ankle sprain. Spoelstra had to turn to Plan B – actually more like Plan B Squared.

So when the first Heat substitution came, it was both guard Pelle Larsson and forward Nikola Jovic at the scorers’ table.

Both injected life. Both created optimism for greater reserve resources moving forward, as the Heat move on to the four-game trip that opens Tuesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center (8 p.m., NBC only in South Florida, no FanDuel Sports Florida).

Jovic and Larsson both came though, Jovic with 19 points, Larsson with 16.

In each case, it was a heartening development.

For Larsson, it was the first game back after missing two with an ankle sprain. And, yes, that meant back to getting hit in the face, this time five minutes after entering.

“The human bruise, with all of his activity,” Spoelstra quipped of the second-year guard whose facial adventures are tracked by the X account @DidPelleGetHit, with Sunday’s entry noting the Heat are up to 5-1 this season in games when the Swede take a blow to his visage.

YES FIRST GAME BACK pic.twitter.com/xra1DDYMgH

— Did Pelle get hit in the face? (@DidPelleGetHit) January 4, 2026

Then there is Jovic, who for the first time this season appears to have found a degree of consistency, the Serb scoring in double figures in five of the six games since he returned from an elbow contusion.

“Niko’s at his best when he’s aggressive,” Spoelstra said. “He’s gaining more confidence, Also, as he’s getting healthier, I think his drives and attacks are a little bit more of a better call.”

Both players recognized the need to step up in Jaquez’s absence, while further elevating their status for the impending moments when Spoelstra will face difficult decisions with a healthier roster.

“He’s a great player, you know, especially a great scorer for us from the bench,” Jovic said of Jaquez. “Someone from the bench will have to step up every night. And I think this team needs us as a unit a lot. Whoever it is, just give them the spark and kind of help them win.”

Jovic filled his Sunday stat line. Beyond his 7 of 16 from the field, he had six rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots. His 13 points in the first quarter made it his highest-scoring quarter or the season.

“I mean, I believe in myself,” Jovic said. “Like I always say, I know how good I am. I just go out there and I want to show, you know, everybody from the team and my aim is I help this team win. I don’t think it’s scoring. I think just everything else and showing them that I can win and I deserve those minutes.”

From Larsson, there was 7-of-15 shooting, in a performance that included six rebounds and three steals. The 15 field-goal attempts were a career high.

Larsson said it was important to replace Jaquez’s aggression.

“He’s a guy that gets a lot of rebounds, so we’re going to step up on that,” he said, “and then also his paint touches.”

As for the face touch, when he was raked across the face by New Orleans’ Jordan Poole, on a play ruled a transition take foul, Larsson smiled afterward.

“But it was open, open hand, not as hard,” he laughed about the latest opponent face plant.

On a night Jaquez sat, Spoelstra still got what he wanted in reserve, as the reserves turned the game in the second quarter, allowing for a degree of breathing room late, as the Heat made it five victories in their last six games.

“The second unit for a three-minute, four-minute stretch was terrific with their multiple efforts,” Spoelstra said. “It kind of changed the energy of the game.”