P.J. Tucker Intends To Play Game 3, Kyle Lowry Questionable

11:30pm: Tucker and Kyle Lowry (hamstring) are both listed as questionable for Saturday’s Game 3, tweets Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. Sources tell Haynes that Tucker was able to avoid an MRI after the swelling in his knee decreased and that he plans to play tomorrow (Twitter link).


7:37am: Heat forward P.J. Tucker, who has been battling minor injuries throughout the postseason, left Thursday’s Game 2 loss to Boston early in the second half due to a left knee contusion and will undergo an MRI on that knee on Friday morning, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

According to Haynes (Twitter link), Tucker sustained the injury in the first quarter and tried to play through it, but was ultimately forced to the sidelines.

As Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (subscriber-only link) writes, Tucker also turned his right ankle in Game 1 and has been dealing with a calf strain since last month. However, he has appeared in all 13 of the Heat’s postseason games to date and has been a key part of the team’s lineup due to his defensive versatility and his ability to knock down three-pointers (48.6% in the playoffs).

The results of today’s MRI will presumably determine if Tucker has to miss any time. Head coach Erik Spoelstra was unable to provide an update after Thursday’s game.

“If you ask him, he says he’s good to go,” Spoelstra told reporters, including Chiang. “We’ll just have to see (on Friday). I’ll talk to the trainers.”

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