The Miami Heat are coming off of a huge victory in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Finals series against the Boston Celtics. Needing a win in Boston to retake the home-court advantage after losing Game 2 in Miami, the Heat proceeded to come out and looked like a team that had been embarrassed in Game 2.
Going up by more than 20 points right out of the gate it seemed, approaching or hitting 30 at times, they would allow the Celtics to close the gap to 15 by the half. Then, the Miami Heat wouldn’t get Jimmy Butler for the second half and all seemed in peril.
But it wasn’t. Because of the play of guys like Kyle Lowry, Bam Adebayo, Victor Oladipo and others, the Heat were able to eke it out.
Well, there is one other guy who deserves a ton of credit for the victory too. That would be P.J. Tucker.
A man that has played some of the best ball of his career this season for the Miami Heat, Tucker continues to do just that during their playoff run.
The Miami Heat needed heroic efforts from everyone that was able to finish Game 3 to get a win. P.J. Tucker was one of those guys and continues to deliver.
Playing his usual brand of tough defense, Tucker has been an absolute presence in this series and in every playoff series before this one.
Jayson Tatum has been guarded by PJ Tucker for 127 possessions this season (regular season and playoffs).
— StatMuse (@statmuse) May 22, 2022
He has scored 15 points in those 127 possessions. pic.twitter.com/iiM6G8mRyC
On top of the top-notch defensive effort, P.J. Tucker has also seen the return of his corner three-ball as the Heat have progressed through the playoffs. It was absolutely crucial in their Game 3 effort over the Celtics.
With Jimmy going out for the second half, the entire team had to do more. Tucker did his part, playing his stellar defense to go along with 17 points, seven rebounds, and one assist in the game while shooting 50 percent from three (3/6).
The man did all this after leaving Game 2 with a knee injury. He came right back in Game 3 to look like nothing ever happened though.
P.J. Tucker is a gamer and as everyone says, he looks like he was always meant to be in a Miami Heat uniform. He’s certainly a guy that could be inching towards lifer status already with Heat fans.
If he keeps working as he does, it’s certainly likely. And well, this is P.J. Tucker here, so you know he’ll keep working.