Los Angeles Clippers point guard Patrick Beverley has been fined $25,000 after throwing the game ball at a spectating Dallas Mavericks fan in the Clippers’ 114-110 loss on Sunday, the league announced.
Prior to the ejection, Beverley, trying to force a jump ball late in the third quarter, dove on top of the Mavs’ Dennis Smith Jr, with his elbow knocking out the second-year guard’s tooth in the process:
Patrick Beverley caught Dennis Smith Jr and knocked out his tooth ? pic.twitter.com/YPTvFkYuzr
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) December 3, 2018
Beverley later tried to apologize for the incident at the Mavs’ bench, but the interaction didn’t go out how he had planned, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN:
Beverley walked to the Mavs’ bench during the next break in play to say, “My bad.” He apparently didn’t get the reaction he was looking for, because he then chastised them for not thanking him for the gesture.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) December 3, 2018
Later in the game, Beverley was ejected for throwing the game ball at a spectating Dallas Mavericks fan, Don Knobler:
Patrick Beverley was ejected after throwing the ball at #MFFL, Don Knobler pic.twitter.com/U7Ru0FDAUK
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) December 3, 2018
Both Beverley and Knobler confirmed that Knobler made an offensive statement about Beverley’s mother, although the pair disagree on whether profanity was used.
Beverley, who was moved to the Clippers from the Rockets in the Chris Paul trade, has always been known as a scrappy, no-nonsense player who has never been known for being pushed around by others – on or off the court.
