SHOP
In Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics, Tyler Herro went off for a franchise rookie record and career-high 37 points (17 in the fourth) to become the youngest player to score that much in a playoff game since Magic Johnson. Those points were also good enough for the most by a rookie off the bench in a playoff game and the most by a rookie during a Conference Finals game in NBA history.
Check out some reactions to his performance below.
ESPN's Richard Jefferson
“It’s so impressive. And what I like about what he did is he helped pick up other players. You saw Jae Crowder struggled to score, there were a couple of other players that really kind of struggled to get a rhythm. And I stand by this: I was talking to multiple people, and I was like, ‘If Tyler Herro scored 27 points, that is an ungodly number for a rookie to do in the Conference Finals, they don’t win this game.’ It was the fact that he was able to do 37 points, 17 in the fourth quarter, timely buckets. That is next level when it comes to the things that are required from players on a basketball court. He does it in such an easy, smooth way.”
University of Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari
“When I watched [Game 4] and I see…Tyler, who has built his own confidence. There is a skill to working the way he works. That’s a skill, too, now…there’s a skill to being ultra-competitive and having a work ethic that’s endless. And both he and Bam are that way. Perfect for being in Miami because that’s their culture.”
NBA TV's Caron Butler
“I felt like Tyler Herro just really stepped up and came into his own. I’m so proud of the fellow cheese head from my home state of Wisconsin. Just watching him grow up over the years, and now he’s performing on the biggest stage, knocking down shots, not afraid of the moment, stepping right into the moment and making a name for himself and creating his legacy as he marches. So young, 20-years-old, and he did it from different facets of the game: shots, jumpers, he did it from the outside, inside, hit a huge cut shot that Jimmy Butler found him on going to the basket to really seal the deal for the Miami HEAT.”
ESPN's Tim Legler
“When a guy goes like that and plays like a star and is the best player on the floor, and for all intents and purposes right now still considered a role player, and a guy does that to you, you can’t overcome that if you’re Brad Stevens. And I just thought he made every right read. In the first half, he was the only guy in offensive rhythm…and he just got more comfortable as the night went on. I just thought the array of shot making is what now we’re being surprised at…it’s the handle, it’s the finishing ability, it’s either hand, it’s opposite foot, it’s the Euro-step. I mean, he’s doing things now at such a rapid progression, it sometimes takes guys two, three years to improve as much as we’ve seen Tyler Herro improve, even in the bubble. That’s how much better he has been even than he was in the regular season. And tonight, obviously, a star performance.”
ESPN's Vince Carter
“I look at the first stat: 37 points, but I look at 14-for-21 from the field. The Miami HEAT has instilled confidence in this young man, and he was playing like he was back in that small town in Milwaukee. He was playing like he was the go-to guy in Kentucky, and that’s what it was. You didn’t see any hesitation, ‘Oh, we got to get the ball to Jimmy Butler.’ Or, ‘We have to get the ball to Bam, our All-Stars.’ They were playing through him because of his ability to shoot outside, his ability to get into the paint and also his ability to make plays for others…he was playing like the superstar that he will be.”
The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor
“It’s not that he got a bunch of spot-up threes or layups in transition on a leak out. He was making superstar plays, getting to the rim, using hesitations, Euro-steps, pull-ups off a dime at the free-throw line, step-backs from three-point land. I mean, it was a remarkable, remarkable performance.”