Damian Lillard fires back at Patrick Beverley’s antics over Twitter
Patrick Beverley continues to be a god-tier troll.
The Los Angeles Lakers guard Beverley taunted Damian Lillard multiple times during the Lakers’ game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday. As Lillard was about to shoot a free throw in the second quarter, Beverley stepped in front of Lillard to try to get into his head, ultimately getting a technical foul for doing so.
Damian Lillard Patrick Beverley pic.twitter.com/4DFMEEoKsa
— That's a highlight (@ClipIt_NBA) January 23, 2023
It initially appeared that Beverley had messed with the wrong one. Lillard and the Blazers responded with an absolute heater, going on a 31-8 run to close out the half from the moment of Beverley’s free-throw line taunt. It culminated with a ridiculous Lillard pull-up three to put Portland up 22.
DAMIAN LILLARD. 🔥🔥
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 23, 2023
But the Lakers rose from the grave in the third quarter and came all the way back, erasing what was at one point a 25-point deficit to take back the lead by the eight-minute mark of the fourth quarter. They went on to win 121-112.
In the closing seconds of the game, Beverley jabbed at Lillard once again. He mocked Lillard’s famous “Dame Time” celebration in which Lillard points to an imaginary watch on his wrist. Beverley tapped at his own wrist repeatedly to indicate that Lillard’s “Dame Time” watch was broken.
Patrick Beverley made sure to troll Damian Lillard after the Lakers came back from a 23-point halftime deficit to win 😂 pic.twitter.com/pnEf0SVb0m
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) January 23, 2023
On Monday morning, Lillard fired back at Beverley’s antics in a tweet. Lillard said that Beverley, who hyped up his defensive performance on Lillard in a postgame press conference, was a “con man.” He also likened Beverley to Flip, a homeless drug addict played by Bernie Mac in the 1994 basketball movie “Above The Rim.”
Con man. Flip from above the rim https://t.co/EpKvfyY3VG
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) January 23, 2023
Beverley offered an apparent response of his own roughly an hour later, tweeting of Lillard, “He mad. Entertaining.”
He mad. Entertaining
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) January 23, 2023
Lillard, though he finished with 24 points and ten assists, shot just 5-for-17 overall in the game. Beverley, who was Lillard’s primary defender, did not do much in the box score but was a game-high +27.
The feud between Lillard and Beverley is a long-running one though. Lillard was already calling out Beverley back when Beverley still played in Houston. The two guards also had a memorable beef during the 2020 Orlando bubble.
