Beverly suspended without pay for one game to start season
The NBA announced Saturday that Clippers guard Patrick Beverley faces a one-game suspension without pay for shoving Phoenix Suns star Chris Paul in the back late in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals.
The suspension will come in the first game of the 202122 NBA regular season that Beverley is eligible to play.
The league determined that Beverley’s actions — which resulted in a technical foul and his ejection from the game — were “an unsportsmanlike act,” according to Kiki VanDe Weghe, executive vice president of basketball operations.
The incident occurred during a stoppage in play with 5:49 remaining in the Clippers’ season. They lost Wednesday’s game 130-103 to the Suns, who returned
to the NBA Finals for the first time in 28 years — in the process denying the Clippers their first Finals berth.
Beverley apologized to Paul on Thursday in a tweet that read: “Emotions got the best of me last night gang. My bad wasn’t meant for you. Congrats on making it to the Finals. Best of Luck.”
The Clippers’ defensiveminded guard had played effective, antagonistic defense on Paul and Devin Booker for much of the series.
For example, according to NBA.com/stats data, in the 155 minutes Beverley was on the court at the same time as Booker during the series, the Suns guard shot just 32.5% from the field (25 for 77), compared with 45.8% (27 for 59) in the 94 minutes Beverley was off the court and Booker was on.
The Suns star also needed stitches and suffered a broken nose after he and a defending Beverley knocked heads in Game 2.