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True to his “Mr. 94 Feet” nickname, Los Angeles Clippers guard Patrick Beverley spent much of Wednesday night’s game hounding Houston Rockets star James Harden all over the basketball court.
It also wasn’t all that effective. Beverley’s aggressiveness caused him to foul out in just 27 minutes, while Harden led his team to a win by scoring a game-high 47 points on 12-of-26 shooting, including 7-of-13 (53.8%) on three-pointers. The 2018 MVP also had seven assists.
After the game ended, 2017 MVP Russell Westbrook — who now stars alongside Harden in the Houston backcourt — was eager to get in a dig at Beverley, his longtime rival. Westbrook said:
Pat Bev trick y’all man, like he play defense. He don’t guard nobody, man. He’s just running around doing nothing. As you’ve seen what happened, 47. All that commotion to get 47.
Russell Westbrook (@russwest44)on Pat Beverley (@patbev21): “Pat Bev trick y’all man, like he play defense. He don’t guard nobody man. He just running around doing nothing..As you seen what happened 47. All that commotion and (@jharden) got 47.” pic.twitter.com/WaJ5D0Q1U5
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) November 14, 2019
Westbrook had 17 points himself in 30 foul-plagued minutes during the 102-93 Houston victory (box score).
The rivalry between the two point guards dates back to the 2013 playoffs, when Beverley — as a member of the Rockets, of all teams — went for the ball after the Thunder had called timeout and collided with Westbrook’s knee, all after the whistle had been blown. It led to a torn meniscus and ended Westbrook’s season early, and tension between the two has lingered for over six years since.
Now Westbrook is in Houston and Beverley is on one of the Rockets’ chief Western Conference rivals, with both 31-year-old guards still in search of their first NBA title.
Wednesday’s victory was the fifth straight overall for the Rockets (8-3), and it drops Beverley’s Clippers (7-4) a game behind in the West standings. If there’s lingering resentment, the rematch is barely over a week away — with Houston visiting Los Angeles next Friday, Nov. 22.
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