It’s opening week around the NBA, and Tuesday night’s double-header kicked off the 2019-2020 season in style with a pair of games that delivered on the hype that’s been generated by all the offseason machinations. The first contest gave us an overtime barn-burner between the Raptors and Pelicans that compensated for the absence of Zion Williamson and gave the Raptors one more chance to celebrate their title as they raised their banner and received their championship rings.
But the marquee matchup between the two L.A. powerhouses is what we’d all been waiting for, and it didn’t disappoint. With Paul George out with a shoulder injury, Kawhi Leonard did as expected and stepped up big time with a 30-point outburst to lead the Clippers to a 112-102 victory as they withstood a 25-point, 10-rebound effort from Anthony Davis and a near triple-double from LeBron.
Needless to say, Patrick Beverley was fired up about the win, so much so that after the final buzzer, he took the ball and launched it into the stands.
Here’s video of the play, where Patrick Beverley celebrates and throws the ball into the stands after the buzzer has sounded and the #Clippers defeated the Lakers. pic.twitter.com/jyI5ZRiPQp
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) October 23, 2019
The league doesn’t take kindly to that sort of thing, so on Wednesday, they handed down a pretty hefty fine for Beverley.
Patrick Beverley was fined $25K pic.twitter.com/HHEhBiCTYm
— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) October 23, 2019
Beverley finished the game with two points on 1-of-7 shooting for the night, including 0-of-5 from downtown, but was his typically pesky self on defense, often covering LeBron James. Not long after the league announced the fine, Beverley took to Twitter to clarify that he was simply trying to give some lucky fan a memento from opening night.
Fans were so great tried to give them the GAME BALL!! SORRY #ClipperNation https://t.co/lnWynDecsz
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) October 24, 2019
And then, to further confirm that there was no malice intended, Beverley shared this message that he purportedly received from the fan who did indeed catch the game ball, although the authenticity of it can’t immediately be confirmed.
It’s ok. I won’t change❗️❗️❗️ https://t.co/g3eGnrmj12 pic.twitter.com/3HI4D9zkoT
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) October 24, 2019
Regardless of intent, the league has strict policies against throwing anything into the stands and are likewise cracking down this season on fan misconduct. Still, it added some extra drama to an opening night slate that was already filled with intrigue.
