MIAMI -- Miami Heat forward Markieff Morris was cleared to play Saturday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves following a four-month absence because of a whiplash injury.
Morris was injured in a Nov. 8 scuffle with Denver's Nikola Jokic. He missed 58 games.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said before the game that Morris had been practicing with the team "for a long time, and he's ready."
"We're all excited about it and I'm excited for him," Spoelstra said. "This has been a tedious process and it's taken longer than everybody anticipated, but these are things you can't necessarily control.