ATLANTA — The rough patch created doubts about an expiration date. Over a seven-game period from late November through mid-December, Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 10 or fewer points in five of those appearances.

Was the sixth-man magic gone?

And then a notice of resilience from the third-year guard, with at least 14 points in his four appearances going into Friday night’s game against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena, including outings of 23 and 21 points earlier in the week.

It has reached the point almost of trend, the bounce-back capability from the 2023 first-round pick out of UCLA, including from last season’s sophomore slump to this season 15.9 scoring average and .518 shooting percentage carried into this weekend’s back-to-back set that concludes Saturday night against the Indiana Pacers at Kaseya Center.

Fortunately for the Heat, in the case of Jaquez, you can’t hold a good sixth man down.

“I think it’s just playing confident, understanding now it’s my third year, there’s going to be ups and downs and just got to continue to play confident, play with the same tenacity of whether you’re playing well, playing not so well,” said Jaquez, who closed last season with an 8.6 scoring average on .461 shooting. “So that’s just really my mentality.”

A first-team All-Rookie selection in 2024, Jaquez currently is producing career numbers, even with that November slide that coincided with pushing through a groin strain.

It is the perseverance that has provided the fuel.

Take last week in Boston, for example, when a 1-of-10 start from the field didn’t dissuade Jaquez. Instead, 4 of 5 in the second half for 11 points over the final two periods, at least positioning the Heat until the Celtics’ late barrage of 3-pointers.

“You just got to keep pushing, got to keep going,” he said of that game. “Shots are going to go in, shots are going to fall. But at the end of the day, you got to continue to play your game.

“And for me, that’s continue to be aggressive, getting downhill and just trying to make plays for myself.”

That appearance against the Celtics came in a rare start, with Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell, Tyler Herro, Pelle Larsson and Nikola Jovic sidelined that night. But it is the bench from where Jaquez has thrived this season, again injecting himself into the conversation for NBA Sixth Man of the Year.

“I think I’m comfortable whether I come off the bench and even starting,” he said, entering Friday with that appearance in Boston as his lone start this season, after making 37 in his first two seasons. “So wherever he wants me, I’m willing to do. And whatever I can do to help this team win is my mentality.”

While Jaquez acknowledged the Heat win as a team and lose as a team, he said it is up to the individual components, including himself, to push for even more amid these uneven times, with the Heat entering Friday with eight losses in their previous nine games,

“I think it all starts individually,” Jaquez said, having missed just one game this season, when he sat out the Nov. 29 home loss to the Detroit Pistons with that groin strain. “We’ve all got to look ourselves in the mirror. I know I can do a lot more. There’s a lot more that I know I can bring to this team, just got to go dig deep and find it, bring it out.

“And that goes for every one of us. Like I said, it’s a tough stretch right now, and we’re really going to discover who we are in this time. And I’m confident in this team. I’m confident in this locker room. And this is something that we’re just going to have to battle through.”