WATCH: Patrick Beverley Gets Ejected After Brutally Shoving Suns Player To The Ground
Los Angeles Lakers star Patrick Beverley was ejected from Tuesday night’s game after he shoved Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton to the ground.
The Suns defeated the Lakers 115-105 in Tuesday night’s game, which moved the Suns’ season record to (11-6) and the Lakers’ record to (5-11), but the story after the game was all about Beverley shoving Ayton.
With 3:55 left in the 4th quarter of the game, Austin Reaves of the Lakers was fouled by Suns star Devin Booker. Ayton walked over to Reaves and looked down at him to apparently taunt him. Beverley did not appreciate Ayton’s antics and gave him a hard shove.
“Beverley comes in and knocks over Ayton!” NBA on TNT play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan shouted. “They had words earlier!”
Players from both teams quickly came over to the scrum, but the altercation did not escalate further.
“He straight leveled Deandre Ayton,” analyst Reggie Miller added.
Beverley began to argue with a referee, and he seemed upset that none of the referees took action against Ayton for taunting Reaves when he was on the ground.
“Beverley’s upset because the officials would not call when Deandre Ayton was standing over Austin Reaves,” Miller continued. “And he took offense to that because he wouldn’t call it, so he took matters into his own hands. That is exactly what happened. That should have been an immediate taunting foul by Deandre Ayton; when he was standing over Reaves.”
TNT showed a replay of the foul committed by Booker, and Ayton stood over Reaves before Beverley gave the shove.
“Officials are used, replay to determine there’s a hostile act or physical altercation that did not resolve after the foul,” referee Marc Davis said.
“There’s no excuse for that. I will say that,” Miller said. “But why he did that is because he was standing over Austin Reaves having words with him.
Beverley was ejected for the physical altercation. Ayton received a technical foul for taunting Reaves, and Booker received a technical foul for the original foul called.
After the game, Booker spoke to TNT and was unhappy with Beverley’s defense of his teammate.
“Pat needs to stop pushing people in the back, man; push them in the chest,” Booker said.
After the game, Beverley spoke to reporters and explained why he gave Ayton the shove.
“Got a person on the ground, two people looking over mean-mugging and puffing their chest out, and referees don’t get into it to kind of separate it, control the game, so I’m going to stand up for my teammate,” Beverley said.
In 2013, an Oklahoma City Thunder Ball boy threatened Beverley’s life after he injured then-Thunder star Russell Westbrook in a playoff game.
Watch above via NBA on TNT.
