76ers’ PJ Tucker Exits Matchup vs. Magic Early Again

PJ Tucker's night ends early in Orlando for the second-straight game.

On Saturday, it was unclear if Philadelphia 76ers veteran forward PJ Tucker would play in Sunday’s rematch against the Orlando Magic or not.

During Friday night’s victory over the Magic, Tucker missed the entire fourth quarter. At the time, the reason behind Tucker’s absence was unclear.

After the game, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers explained why Tucker didn’t play in the final quarter of action.

“I don’t know what it was, I think it was his ankle or something,” said Rivers after the game. “He couldn’t go, so we didn’t have anybody to guard Banchero anymore. I don’t know what it was, to be honest. I just knew they told me when he went out. He told me he had to come out, and so I haven’t checked, but we’ll see what’s going on.”

The Sixers revealed that Tucker was dealing with ankle soreness. While it was unclear whether Tucker would play on Sunday or not, the Sixers’ Saturday night injury report for Sunday’s game revealed that Tucker wouldn’t miss a matchup as a result of the soreness.

Tucker suited up on Sunday as expected, but his night ended prematurely. After checking into the matchup for 15 minutes in the first half, Tucker started the second half on the bench, which is unusual. Shortly after it was realized Tucker wasn’t starting for the Sixers in the second half, the veteran forward was ruled out for the remainder of the matchup due to ankle soreness.

The veteran ended the night with two rebounds and one assist.

While Tucker’s setback doesn’t seem severe, Philadelphia’s considerable lead over Orlando likely left the team feeling like the best-case scenario was resting Tucker on the first night of a back-to-back in hopes he can return to the lineup on Monday at home against the Atlanta Hawks.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.