Things got heated between Patrick Beverley and Russell Westbrook during Tuesday’s matchup between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Westbrook did not appreciate Beverley's questionable dive for the ball that undercut the former MVP off his legs and caused him to have a nasty fall on the floor.
However, Clippers head coach Doc Rivers does not think that his veteran point guard made a dirty play, per Erik Horne of the Oklahoman.
“I didn't think it was a dirty play at all. I thought Pat got to the ball first. It was a loose ball, we tell our guys to dive for the ball. He dove and got to the ball first. I don't know how that was a flagrant”
Doc Rivers said he didn’t think the Westbrook-Beverley play was dirty by Beverley: “They have bad blood. There’s nothing wrong with not liking someone in this league.” pic.twitter.com/ZMYspBPABX
— Erik Horne (@ErikkHorne) October 31, 2018
Rivers also added that he sees nothing wrong with the apparent bad blood that the two fiery point guards have for each other. Moreover, he said that everything seemed to be all clean and physical action, and that the sequence reminded him of his playing days in the 1980s.
“There's nothing with not liking someone in the league. It's allowed in this day and time.”
These two go way back. Beverley, who was then part of the Houston Rockets, was apparently responsible for Westbrook's season-ending knee injury back when their respective teams faced off in the first round of the 2013 playoffs.
Fast-forward to the present and these two are still going at it. Luckily for the Clippers' defensive-minded guard, Westbrook was unscathed from his nasty spill. Otherwise, Beverley would have gotten major heat for what he did.
It's safe to say that there has been no love lost between these two combustible personalities. These two combatants will face off again when the Clippers take another visit to Oklahoma City on December 15.
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