Patrick Beverley defends himself after Suns' Devin Booker calls out Lakers guard for ejection, shove of Deandre Ayton

Scott Rafferty

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Patrick Beverley defends himself after Suns' Devin Booker calls out Lakers guard for ejection, shove of Deandre Ayton image

Patrick Beverley was ejected late in the Lakers' 115-105 loss to the Suns for shoving Deandre Ayton.

The incident occurred with 3:55 remaining in the fourth quarter after Devin Booker committed a hard foul on Lakers guard Austin Reaves. Beverley said he responded to Booker and Ayton standing over Reaves while "mean-mugging and puffing their chest out."

Following a review, Booker was assessed a flagrant foul while both Beverley and Ayton received technical fouls. Beverley was also ejected.

"I'm not going for that s—," Beverley said after the game.

"Obviously, it's unfortunate that it happened on national TV. But you know me: Regardless of what's going on, I'm a big fan of protecting my teammates. I'm a foxhole guy. I put on the jersey and I commit to a team, I commit to a city, and it's kind of my motto. I'm a foxhole guy.

"Very unfortunate situation, though."

Here's a video of the incident:

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Suns head coach Monty Williams called Beverley's shove "unnecessary" and wants the league to "look at those kinds of plays." Ayton said Beverley didn't hurt him and "didn't take nothing out of my pocket."

Booker had words for Beverley directly, telling TNT's Chris Haynes that he needs to "stop pushing people in the back" and "push them in the chest."

On the other side, Reaves said he appreciated Beverley having his back.

"He's a team player," Reaves said. "He rocks with who he rocks with. Whoever is on his team, you respect him. You love him. You're glad he's on your team. When he's not, he's a pest, does all that stuff, all those little things. But I just respect him for who he is and standing up for me."

The Lakers fell to 5-11 with the loss while the Suns improved to 11-6, putting them at the top of the Western Conference standings.

Scott Rafferty

Scott Rafferty Photo

 

Scott Rafferty is an experienced NBA journalist who first started writing for The Sporting News in 2017. There are few things he appreciates more than a Nikola Jokic no-look pass, Klay Thompson heat check or Giannis Antetokounmpo eurostep. He's a member of the NBA Global team.