Official News: Lakers Head Coach is out for 3games due to…
Los Angeles Lakers guard Patrick Beverley received a three-game suspension from the NBA on Thursday for pushing Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton from behind during Tuesday’s 115-105 victory.
Ayton stood over Lakers wing Austin Reaves during the incident in the fourth quarter (20 seconds into the video). Beverley will start serving his suspension on Friday against the San Antonio Spurs.
Beverley appeared to disagree with the decision on Twitter before to the suspension being announced:
After the game, Beverley spoke with media and did not say he was sorry for pushing Ayton:
“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. …”That s–t is not what I’m after. It’s regrettable, of course, that it occurred on national television. But you already know that I’m all for standing up for my teammates, no matter what. I’m a guy from the foxhole. It’s sort of my motto—I put on the shirt and I commit to a team, I commit to a city. I’m a guy from the foxhole.
Suns All-Star guard Devin Booker spoke with Chris Haynes of TNT about the altercation between Beverley and Ayton after Phoenix’s victory (50-second mark):
According to Booker, Beverley “needs to stop pushing people in the back” and should resolve conflicts amicably.
The cast of TNT’s Inside the NBA also talked about the matter, and Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal each had different opinions (see the video at 4:30):
In August, Beverley joined the Lakers with a trade that sent Stanley Johnson and Talen Horton-Tucker to the Utah Jazz.
The 34-year-old is averaging a career-low 4.1 points per game with 3.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists in his 11th NBA season. His field goal and beyond-the-arc percentages are also only 26.6 and 23.8 percent, respectively.
The Lakers signed Beverley to fill in for part of the point guard duty after Russell Westbrook struggled the previous season. However, the move hasn’t paid off, as L.A. is 5-11.
Beverley’s ban will keep him out of two Spurs games and one Indiana Pacers game. He can play again on Nov. 30 when the Lakers play the Portland Trail Blazers.
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