He spared no effort to defend on the court, from the first position to the fifth position, he was the most critical part of the Rockets' defensive system. He is also the Rockets' cold gunner at key moments, and he completes the key shot when Harden, Paul and Gordon attract attention. On March 11, Beijing time, Tucker once again fully demonstrated his value, limiting supernova Doncic on the defensive end, threatening in the bottom corner on the offensive end, and shooting a key goal to help the Rockets beat the Lone Rangers 94-93.
The Rockets were nearly reversed by the Lone Rangers, and the team collectively dud only 3 points in the final 3 minutes, and Paul covered Brunson's layup in the last minute. In the final 3 minutes, Harden shot 0-of-4. Gordon didn't get a shooting chance. Tucker threw in the Rockets' only goal in the final 3 minutes.
Still in the bottom corner! Or in his favorite right bottom corner! It was 1 minute and 29 seconds left in the game when Paul broke through to attract a defensive pass to Tucker, who was standing in the bottom corner. The latter received the ball and hit a three-point shot to rewrite the score to 94-89. The Rockets then didn't score, and the Lone Ranger Powell scored two goals in a row, and the Rockets narrowly won by one point.
Tucker's bottom three-pointer was worth a fortune and became a key factor in the Rockets' win. Tucker is the bottom corner trinket king this season! He made a total of 90 three-pointers in the left and right bottom corners to rank first in the league.
Tucker's three-point shooting percentage in the bottom left corner is average, shooting 30-of-92 from the field, and it's only 32.6 percent from the field. But he shot a superb three-point shooting percentage in the bottom right corner, shooting 45.1 percent of 60-of-133. The bottom right corner is Tucker's favorite offensive area.
Tucker scored a total of nine points on 3-of-4 three-pointers, shooting two three-pointers in the bottom right corner and another three-pointer at a 45-degree angle on the left.
In this game, Tucker also played a role in the defensive end. He actively defended Doncic, who shot 5-of-16 and 1-of-6 from three-point range, limiting Doncic's offense well. Of course, Doncic is an all-rounder, still having 19 points, 15 rebounds and 9 assists.
Rockets coach D'Antoni revealed after the game that the team's strategy for defending the Lone Ranger's last attack was not to let Doncic carry out the final attack, because Doncic has scored key goals many times this season. Tucker's defense worked, forcing Doncic to pass the ball. 'I'm really glad the players did it, Luka Doncic, we all know how good he is, P.J. Tucker, once again, he's like a bear defending there. D'Antoni said.
That's tucker's value, the key three-pointer, the key defense, he's an indispensable puzzle for the Rockets.