After another night of trying his best to lock down Kevin Durant, P.J. Tucker had nothing but love for his fellow Texas Longhorn after the Bucks’ game six win over the Nets on Thursday night.
Tucker and Durant’s relationship was under the microscope in game three, when the two came face-to-face resulting in a skirmish on the floor and the ban of a security guard that rushed on the court to intervene, but Tucker reinforced the mutual respect between the two after helping keep Milwaukee’s season alive.
“Me and Kevin fight every year,” Tucker said. “I’ve guarded him every year in the playoffs. Golden State, Oklahoma City, it doesn’t matter. Regular season or playoffs. I love guarding him. I enjoy it. He’s the best scorer I’ve ever seen in my life. I told [Texas coach] Rick Barnes on his visit when he was a junior in high school. He’s gonna be the best player I’ve ever seen in my life. He killed us. I knew this since 11th grade.”
Tucker was tasked with guarding Durant as a member of the Rockets when Houston was taking on Durant’s Warriors in the playoffs in 2019, and the two are back at it again in new uniforms this season. Tucker’s defense on Durant drew attention when the two were barking at each other in game three, but also when Brooklyn head coach Steve Nash suggested Tucker was being overly physical in defending Durant. But Tucker says any outside noise is just that, and while things get heated on the floor, their relationship is unwavering once the final horn sounds.
“It’s the playoffs,” Tucker said. “I don’t know what people think. We dreamed about this our whole lives. We dreamed of being in the layoffs guarding the best player in the world. I’ll die out there. I’m living my dream. I’m not backing down for nothing. I’m fighting for every inch.
“I don’t understand people. He’s my brother. We compete, we fight every game. We’re gonna fight again in game seven. That is a part of it. All of that other stuff is just stuff.”
The two will go at it one more time this season on Saturday night in a winner-take-all game seven. Tucker has had his success guarding Durant, limiting him to 25 percent shooting from the field in game four, but Durant has had his wins in the form of a heroic 49-point performance in game five. Tucker will be tasked with slowing Durant down on Saturday, knowing he won’t be able to be completely stopped.
“Kevin Durant is the best scorer of our generation,” Tucker said. “He is a tall task for anybody. I don’t think anyone can shut him down. What you can do is try to make him work…it takes a whole team to guard him.”
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