By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
A few months after being traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Patrick Beverley took on his previous NBA team in the Play-In for the seventh seed of the Western Conference Tuesday night. It was a revenge game, to say the least.
“Man, I wanted this one so bad,” he explained after the Timberwolves secured the win, “This is just the icing on the cake, the cherry on top. Play-in, to be able to beat them.”
Beverley, 33, contributed seven points, 11 rebounds, three assists, one assist, and one block over 33 minutes. Moving on to face the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies, the Timberwolves made the playoffs for the first time in four years and the second in 18 years.
“I told you we were going to the playoffs,” said the starting point guard of the Timberwolves, “Most of you all, y’all looked at me like I was crazy when I first said that. I f—ing told y’all.”
“We celebrating because Minnesota deserves this,” he added via a post on Twitter, “A lot of pain the past couple of years. Be happy for us.”
The Clips will instead take on the New Orleans Pelicans or San Antonio Spurs for the eighth seed leading to a best-of-seven series opposite the Phoenix Suns.
“Long flight to L.A. Take they ass home,” the experienced point guard delivered more emotional reactions, “It’s deeper than that for me. I gave my blood and sweat and tears to that organization. You guys know the story. Blood, sweat and tears, to just be written off like that, ‘He’s injury-prone. He’s old.’ This, this, that, that. To be able to come here and play them in a play-in and beat they ass, no other feeling, man. No other feeling.”
Beverley was coming off a fine from the NBA due to yelling at a referee during the last game of the Regular Season. He was ejected from the game versus the Chicago Bulls.
Per the press release: “Minnesota Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley has been fined $25,000 for improper conduct toward a game official, it was announced today by Byron Spruell, President, League Operations.
Beverley received a technical foul and was ejected with 18.5 seconds remaining in the second quarter of the Timberwolves’ 124-120 loss to the Chicago Bulls on April 10 at Target Center.”
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