Wednesday night’s Houston Rockets-LA Clippers game proved to be entertaining on many levels.
James Harden scored 47 points in the 102-93 win, while Austin Rivers managed to get his dad Doc a technical foul. On top of that, Patrick Beverley fouled out, leading Russell Westbrook to take a shot at his counterpart after the game.
Westbrook dismissed Beverley’s reputation for being a defensive stopper, saying the guard tricked everyone into thinking he was good on defense.
Russell Westbrook: “Pat Bev trick y’all, man, like he playing defense. He don’t guard nobody, man. He just running around, doing nothing.” Made sure to note that James Harden scored 47 tonight.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) November 14, 2019
Beverley was asked about Westbrook’s comments but declined to engage.
I asked Pat Beverley about these comments and he had no interest in responding. “Don’t start that, don’t start that. I don’t care about that.” https://t.co/SyxVJtLc5T
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) November 14, 2019
Harden went for 47 points and the Clippers lost. There wasn’t much for Beverley to be able to say except, “hey, it’s November. Call me if this happens in the playoffs.”
Plus, maybe he didn’t want to get into it because despite the loss, the numbers showed Beverley actually did shut down Harden when defending him.
Per @ESPNStatsInfo, James Harden was 0-of-6 with four turnovers when defended by Patrick Beverley tonight. Harden was spectacular overall (47 points, 12-26 FG), but the facts don't support Russell Westbrook's opinion that Beverley is an overrated defender.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) November 14, 2019
Just don’t expect Beverley to make his teammates look bad by pointing that out.
