The Golden State Warriors rolled through the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 1 of their first round series, picking up a 121-104 win at Oracle Arena. The Warriors are expected to make quick work of the Clippers, but Los Angeles is not a team that will go down easily, as they’ve scratched and clawed all season to get to where they are now.
That mentality is best epitomized by Patrick Beverley, their veteran guard who was put on earth to annoy other humans who play basketball. On Saturday, his job was to annoy Kevin Durant, and while Durant had 23 points on 8-for-16 shooting, Beverley still had some fun.
Things came to a head with five minutes left in the fourth quarter. It looked like Golden State had wrapped things up, but Beverley and Durant kept going at one another. Durant went up for a dunk and got fouled, but as he was coming down, Beverley flew through the air and grabbed his arm, leading to some jawing and double technicals.
Nineteen seconds later, Durant hounded Beverley while he was bringing the ball up the floor. Beverley was fouled and went to ground, leading to Durant standing over him and talking. Beverley got right up and chirped back, so another double technical was called and their games came to an end.
It’s a big development for the Dubs, because after seven technical fouls in the postseason, a player is suspended for one game. Durant is known for picking up technicals in the heat of the moment, and Beverley is assuredly going to keep prodding him over the course of this series. That’s before we even get to the players in the conference semis, conference finals, and NBA Finals who will try to go at Durant with the hopes of getting him suspended.
