A new report has revealed what was said to Milwaukee Bucks guard Patrick Beverley to set him off in a confrontation with Indiana Pacers fans at the end of Thursday’s Game 6.
TV cameras caught Beverley throwing a ball at a Pacers fan, seemingly in frustration, with just over two minutes left in Thursday’s 120-98 Indiana victory (video here). According to Lauren Merola, Shams Charania and Eric Nehm of The Athletic, the situation escalated when the fan yelled “Cancun … Cancun on 3” while the Bucks were breaking a huddle.
Sources did indicate that other obscenities were also directed at Beverley before that particular taunt. The Bucks guard also allegedly threw the basketball twice at the fan, the second time coming after the fan had returned it to him.
The “Cancun” taunt is a very mild one, and if that is really what Beverley was reacting to, it is not a good look. However, it is also unclear what the nature of the other obscenities directed his way were.
The NBA is unlikely to care about Beverley’s explanation. Considering how seriously the league takes fan-player altercations, a suspension is well within the realm of possibility.
