Patrick Beverley won’t be joining his teammates for the 2021-22 season opener.
The NBA announced Saturday that the Clippers guard has been suspended one game without pay for an “unsportsmanlike act” in Los Angeles’ Game 6 loss to Phoenix on Wednesday night. Beverley was ejected from that contest after shoving Suns star Chris Paul in the fourth quarter as both players were walking toward their respective benches.
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Beverley tweeted an apology to Paul on Thursday, saying that “emotions got the best of me.”
@CP3 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 🤞🏾
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) July 1, 2021
Part of Beverley’s frustration may have stemmed from the fact that there was nothing the Clippers could do to stop Paul. The 11-time All-Star torched his former team in a 130-103 win, scoring 41 points to help Phoenix clinch a berth in the 2021 NBA Finals.
“We knew they broke. We know we broke them,” Suns forward Jae Crowder said when asked about Beverley’s shove. “There’s no better sign of defeat than during that moment. … Once we knew we got the game won, we knew at some point they would break. I think that’s basically what you saw. You saw a breaking point with one of their leaders in that locker room.
“And that’s a great feeling to have, especially in the playoffs, such a great feeling.”
Beverley emerged as a key contributor during the Western Conference finals, averaging 6.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game while regularly defending All-Star shooting guard Devin Booker. He has been known as one of the NBA’s biggest irritants throughout his career, but clearly Paul got the best of him in Game 6.