"He brought it up first!" While Anakin does also raise his voice in the heat of the moment, it's not at Tuck's level. "So I asked if he was one and he got really mad and wanted to fight me. He tried to break my fighter!"

Yes, he absolutely did egg Tuck on, but he didn't start it. And if he was that easy to rile up then Anakin had an obligation to do it.