The NBA Playoffs continue on Sky Sports on Saturday overnight with Miami Heat @ Boston Celtics – Game 3, live on Arena & Main Event from 1.30am
Saturday 21 May 2022 19:10, UK
The Miami Heat could have both PJ Tucker and Kyle Lowry available for Saturday night's clash with the Boston Celtics.
Both players are officially listed as 'questionable' heading into Game 3 at the TD Garden but it's understood the two starters, who have both won championship rings, intend to go through their pre-game warm-up activities with the intention to play.
Tucker is suffering with irritation in his left knee following Thursday's Game 2 loss to the Celtics and as a player noted for his toughness, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra says it's been hard to get an exact diagnosis on the player.
"I think all of us, you're kind of on eggshells with him," Spoelstra said of Tucker. "You can't ask him how he's doing. I can't ask a trainer, because if he sees me talking to a trainer, he barks at me and yells at me if I'm talking to the trainers. I'm allowed to talk to the trainers, that is part of my job. But he is a throwback by every definition of that."
Lowry, meanwhile missed the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals and has played in just five postseason games so far with the Heat, due to a hamstring strain he has been suffering.
If Lowry does return it won't be with the intent of playing major minutes, but no doubt the presence of the 2019 NBA champion will be beneficial to the team's ambitions.
"Obviously you have a Hall of Fame point guard," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, via the Sun-Sentinel. "It won't be 40 minutes. But whatever his minutes are, he has the experience and resume. You can't necessarily put a weight to it; you just know what it means to your team, especially in a building like this, on the road."
Tucker was reportedly going to have an MRI on his knee but ended up not having one according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. The swelling has subsided since and the player, who won a ring last year with Milwaukee Bucks after being picked up close to the trade deadline. Guard Gabe Vincent, who started in Game 1 and Game 2, is questionable with a left hamstring strain.
The Boston Celtics' sixth man, Derrick White, missed Game 2 due to the birth of his child, but his team was still able to come away with a decisive 127-102 victory in Miami to split the series.
With Marcus Smart, who missed Game 1, available once again, White will most likely come off the bench for Game 3 as he has for most of the postseason. In his 12 playoff appearances, he's averaged 6.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 24.2 minutes.
The rush of live NBA Playoffs games continues on Sky Sports this week - see the list of games here and subscribe to watch the live action.
