The Los Angeles Lakers-Philadelphia 76ers clash was hyped up to be a well-fought battle between the two powerhouses. Instead, the 76ers walked all over the LeBron James-led Lakers, handing them a 138-96 blowout loss. Among the several talking points from tonight’s contest was the Patrick Beverley-Austin Reaves altercation.
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Towards the end of the third quarter, as the Sixers held on to a 21-point lead, Patrick Beverley and Austin Reaves got into a tussle. Pat Bev’s incredible defense had the Lakers guard visibly frustrated. Eventually, Reaves turned the ball over, leaving Beverley super ecstatic.
As AR was walking back on defense, Beverley bumped right into him. His actions led to a verbal altercation and a minor tussle.
Justifying his actions, Beverley took to X (formerly “Twitter”), reminding everyone that Reaves disrespected him with the “too little” sign last season.
Clearly, the Sixers’ defensive specialist wasn’t going to let Reaves’ action slide.
Patrick Beverley outplayed Austin Reaves
Tonight, Patrick Beverley was absolutely sensational on both sides of the court. While Austin Reaves wasn’t his defensive matchup for the entirety of the contest, Beverley prevented the 6ft 5”star from having a huge impact.
Reaves ended the contest with 12 points on 40% FG, 25% 3FG, and a box plus-minus of -19. Whereas, Beverley was efficient, recording 12 points and 6 rebounds on 44% FG, 50% 3FG, and a box plus-minus of +26.
Given Pat Bev’s competitive personality, Reaves could almost predict that his former teammate would come out with all guns blazing. As Philly fans would’ve hoped, their star player emerged victorious in his head-to-head battle against the Lakers’ 3rd-year guard.
Despite playing pretty solid basketball, Beverley stated that he didn’t enjoy his time wearing the Purple & Gold. Revealing the negative experiences that he had to face, Beverley said:
“They don’t listen to me…. You gotta go through the first-year coach, the LeBron, the AD, the Russ, then it get to me. You don’t hear my sh*t the way you should hear my sh*t.”
Clearly, Beverley is now enjoying his stint playing for the Philadelphia 76ers. Even though his numbers are not visually appealing, Beverley has been a great mentor to several youngsters on the roster.
