NBA suspends Lakers' Beverley for three games
Shoving DeAndre Ayton in the back will cost Patrick Beverley three games.
The NBA announced Thursday morning that Beverley, 34, will be suspended three games after the push, which sent Ayton spilling to the floor and got Beverley ejected Tuesday night against the Phoenix Suns.
The confrontation was the most fiery moment of the 115-105 road loss, which saw Beverley up the stakes after he thought Ayton was standing over Austin Reaves, who was down on the floor himself after getting fouled by Devin Booker. The scuffle wound up garnering a flagrant foul for Booker, a technical foul for Ayton, but will end up costing Beverley the most. Even in the postgame locker room, Beverley sensed that discipline would be forthcoming.
“Very unprofessional by myself,” he said. “Definitely could have reacted in a different way. So, yeah, I'm a big boy. I'll take my lumps however they come.”
Beverley has started 14 of 16 games for the Lakers this season, averaging 4.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists. He'll miss two games at San Antonio and a home game against the Indiana Pacers.
In a league-issued statement, Head of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars said the length of the suspension was “based in part on Beverley's history of unsportsmanlike acts.” He's been fined or suspended eight times in his 10-year career.
In his postgame interview, Booker lashed out at Beverley: “Pat need to stop pushing people in the back, man. Push them in the chest.”
But within the Lakers' locker room, Beverley's defense of Reaves got a much more positive reaction. Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook and Reaves himself said they thought it showed team unity — that Beverley was indicating that he'd have everyone's back. Even coach Darvin Ham, while saying he wanted his players to follow the rules, said it would have been “terrible” if none of the Lakers' responded to the Suns' taunts after fouling Reaves.
Reaves said he believed the confrontation might help build team chemistry.
“Just being around him, you know in any situation that they're going to have your back on the court, off the court, regardless of what it is,” he said. “Little stuff like that does create chemistry that you might not think matters, but it does. If you go out and play and you see your bother giving it 110 percent, you're not going to want to do anything less.”