We are at the end of the meeting. Austin Reaves is on the ground, having been countered by Devin Booker, and Deandre Ayton approaches the Lakers player to chamber him. Faced with this, Patrick Beverley increases the pressure and decides to rush into the pivot of the Suns, who has his back to him.
The rest is simple, Deandre Ayton falls and there is a scuffle. Result of the races: an expulsion for the playmaker from Los Angeles and a technical foul for the pivot from Phoenix.
“It was unfortunate that it happened on national television. It was not very professional on my part, I could have reacted differently. But I am known, I like to protect my teammates, vindicated the Minnesota alum for OCR. “I am a fighter. I put on my jersey and I fight for my teammates, I commit to a city. That’s my motto. »
Austin Reaves thanked his teammate several times for his gesture, which Anthony Davis also greeted. “No matter who is on his team, we respect him and we love him. We are happy to have him on our team. I respect him for who he is and for standing up for me.” explains Austin Reaves. “We don’t let anyone make our teammate feel like he’s not a man. It’s a lack of respect “, add the interior.
Same compliment in the mouth of Darvin Ham. “What would it be like if Reaves was on the ground and no one was doing anything or coming to help him? It would be terrible as an image. So it is. I do not blame him. We try to stay within the limit, but make no mistake about it, we have everyone’s back. We are like that and he is there to protect his teammates. »
“It’s the second time he pushes someone who has his back turned”
On the side of Phoenix, obviously, we do not hold the same speech. Devin Booker starts at the microphone of TNT, recalling that the Lakers player is not on his first try. ” Patrick Beverley needs to stop pushing people in the back. Let him push them into the torso instead. That’s all I have to say. »
The back refers to Patrick Beverley’s gesture against Chris Paul in July 2021, where the former pushed the latter in the back. Deandre Ayton, too, thought of this action. “It’s the second time he pushes someone who has his back turned,” underlines the pivot for Arizona Sports. ” It’s like that. I’m not worried, he didn’t hurt me and I didn’t react. »
Finally, Monty Williams also expressed his anger by broadening the debate on these moments when a player pushes another.
“It happens too often” regrets the coach of the 2021 finalists. “The league needs to take a closer look at this. These are unnecessary gestures. There was tension, it’s obvious, but it happens too often to see a player pushing another, who is not looking at him. It is not normal. Yes, he was expelled but we let it happen and then we resume as if nothing had happened. It’s stupid, it’s the only word that comes to mind. »
