Patrick Beverley throws ball at Pacers fans multiple times after Bucks are eliminated
By Ryan Stano
The Indiana Pacers took down the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 6 of the first round of the NBA Playoffs. They beat the Bucks 120-98 to beat them 4-2 in the series and send them home. It's the first playoff series the Pacers have won in a decade. It meant a lot to them and the fans really helped them get this win.
The bench for the Pacers really stepped up. T.J. McConnel and Obi Toppin were spectacular, scoring 41 points between them. Tyrese Haliburton and Andrew Nebmhard also scored 31 points as a starting backcourt duo. Basically whoever Patrick Beverley was guarding cooked him.
That frustration clearly got to Beverley. He has always been an instigator in the league, wherever he's been. The Pacers got in his head in the worst way because Beverley did something extremely unacceptable at the end of the game once it was clear the Bucks were going to lose.
Patrick Beverley chucks a basketball at unsuspecting Pacers fans behind the Bucks' bench
Beverley decided to chuck a basketball very hard at Pacers fans behind the Bucks bench. Take a look at the clip below:
As you can see, he really threw the ball hard at multiple fans and did so multiple times. The fans didn't throw anything at Beverley. He clearly is just taking out his aggression on losing the series on fans who were probably talking smack. He can't act like that no matter what was said.
I expect the NBA to take swift action in this case. Beverley needs to be fined and suspended to start next season. There is no room in the NBA for anything like this from a player. The fans help pay their paycheck, and to throw something at them is completely unacceptable.
It's going to be very interesting to see what kind of punishment Adam Silver comes down with. I expect it to be swift and fairly harsh. Beverley has a reputation, but he usually leaves his dirty play on the court. This was far above anything he's done before.