The Phoenix Suns played back-to-back games against the Houston Rockets, dropping their last one, as they went home with a 119-128 tonight. This Western Conference matchup was a deeply eventful one, as it saw Devin Booker injuring his ankle and limping off the court alongside a scuffle between Jalen Green and All-Star guard, Bradley Beal. Now 24 hours in, the audio from their brief altercation has made the rounds on social media.
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After a possession on offense, Jalen Green decided to get into Bradley Beal’s face after he was denied at the rim. Beal did not take this kindly and decided to retaliate while inbounding the ball from the baseline.
The audio deciphered from the words exchanged by these two players had Jalen Green initially shouting, “Hell no, n****! Hell no,” while implying that Beal would not be getting easy access past him on defense.
Green proceeded to say no once more while Bradley Beal stood out of bounds to inbound the ball. A frustrated Beal ended up bumping the ball on Green’s forehead. Causing Green to swing his arm and then Beal just shoving the young Rockets guard as things transpired further.
Jalen Green was livid as he kept talking and jawing at Beal. A veteran star in the league, Beal just stood there as Green went on to say, “The f*ck is wrong with you, n***a?”
Now, many fans on X are speculating that this animosity between the two players did not magically take place over one play. Before this altercation between the two, Jalen Green was locking up Bradley Beal while on defense.
Skilled at getting his shot off in numerous ways from the field, Beal was locked up by Green on three straight possessions. There may have also been some unnecessary physicality that the official missed out on, leading up to Beal’s frustration.
Bradley Beal’s antics earned him two technical fouls and an ejection from the game right after. Beal’s ejection ended up hurting the team even more when Devin Booker ended up going down late in the fourth quarter.
Had Beal not been ejected and was on the floor, the Suns probably would’ve won this game, despite the injury to D-Book. Beal only ended up playing 20 minutes, scoring 7 points, grabbing 2 rebounds, and dishing out 2 assists.
Bradley Beal’s scuffle with Jalen Green
The 119-128 loss suffered at the hands of the Houston Rockets saw a mediocre performance from Phoenix. Apart from the Suns’ ‘Big Three,’ only one other player on the entire roster ended up scoring in double-digits.
By the end of the game, the Suns’ shooting percentage was from beyond the arc was an unpleasant surprise as opposed to the Rockets. Not only did Houston Have an advantage in sinking the long-range bomb, but they also capitalized on the Suns’ turnovers leading to steals with constant on-the-ball pressure throughout the game.
After the matchup, All-Star forward Kevin Durant sat down with the media to talk about the game and his two cents on the ejection of Bradley Beal. KD had a hilarious response when asked about Beal.
“I didn’t even know Brad(Bradley Beal) got thrown out, until like the fourth quarter. I just thought he was coming back.”
Durant’s candid response even broke out a few giggles from other media representatives sitting in the crowd. As for the game, KD’s 30-point performance was overshadowed by the Rockets, led by Jalen Green’s 34-point outburst.
Even apart from Green, Houston played great team basketball, piling up on team assists, and leading every starter to finish the night scoring in double-digits. But looking back at the game, had Bradley Beal not gotten himself thrown out of the game, the Suns would now have been on a three-game winning streak.
