Patrick Beverly is a pest, but Luka got his revenge
Minnesota player Pat Beverly is known to be a nuisance around the NBA, but it was Mavs’ Luka Doncic who had the last laugh with this gesture.
The Dallas Mavericks took on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday, and it was Patrick Beverly's and Luka Doncic’s little rivalry which provided the most entertainment.
Patrick Beverly vs Luka Doncic: who is the bigger pest to whom?
Beverly has been a known pest in the NBA ever since he joined, targeting the best players on opposing teams to bother on and off the basketball court. He does things to try and get under their skin and prepares himself to defend against them.
On Monday night, his target was the Slovenian, Luka Doncic. Beverly recently spoke about Doncic on a podcast called “The Old Man and the Three”, saying that guarding him is always frustrating because he plays the same way Beverly does. “His intelligence. He’s physical as f**k and flops at the same time, which is the exact same thing I do," said Beverly.
Beverly did manage to defend pretty well against Doncic, who put up just 15 points, but he also had 10 assists, which attributed to 15 more points by his teammates. In the third quarter, after getting the ball away from Doncic, Beverly clapped in Doncic’s face and then gave him a little pat on the butt. Doncic, clearly annoyed by this gesture, just shook his head.
The Mavs were up 110-107 with 10 seconds left in the game when Beverly was fouled. He missed both free throws, missing the second on purpose in order to get the rebound, but that backfired. Beverly got the rebound, and Doncic was called for a foul on Beverly as he went up for a layup. The Mavs challenged the foul and won it, which resulted in a jump ball between the two.
Beverly got the ball after the tip, but Doncic fouled him again with just 2.5 seconds left at that point. Beverly made the first shot this time around, but again, intentionally missed the second. Karl-Anthony Towns grabbed the rebound, but time ran out before the Wolves could do anything with it and the Mavs won 110-108.
As they were leaving the court, Doncic and Beverly shook hands, but Doncic gave him a satisfying smirk and sassy wave goodbye to end the night.