A pair of loose-ball scrambles Sunday ended up being notable for more than a couple of jump balls in the Dallas Mavericks’ 114-110 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
In the third quarter, Mavericks guard Dennis Smith Jr. and the Clippers’ Patrick Beverley went after the ball, with Beverley appearing to elbow Smith in the mouth and knocking out part of a tooth. Smith, who won the jump ball, left the game to get the tooth tended to and returned. He appeared postgame with the tooth intact, calling it “magic.”
The pair got into it again during the fourth quarter, wrestling over another loose ball on the floor. There were no teeth or injuries involved, but this time it was Beverley who had to vacate the court.
The LA guard jumped up and threw the ball into the stands at a fan, earning a technical foul and an ejection.
After the game, Beverley told reporters that the fan, Mavs season-ticket holder Don Knobler, told him, “F–k your mother” twice.
“I told the referee, I told the security,” Beverley told reporters. “I mean, I’ve never gotten ejected out of a game since I’ve been in the NBA. You know, I play hard, I play within the lines, of course. I play within the rules, of course. I’ve never been ejected in my career in the NBA, but I’m a grown man. I have morals. Of course, God is first, family is second for me, and I stand firmly behind that.
“Anybody that knows me knows that I’m a family-first guy and some things are just unacceptable,” he said. “If no one is going to control fans, what are we supposed to do as players? I’m a grown man, but when you bring family into it, especially in a basketball game, there’s only so much you can tolerate as a man.”
For his part, Knobler admitted getting into it with Beverley after the first scramble with Smith, but denied using profanity.
“The guy said something about his mother,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “So, still, I told him at the end of the day, it’s not right. Fans should have control as well, and they shouldn’t call you names, especially what I heard he called Pat and said something about his mom, but it’s tough.
“I told him, ‘This is the life we live, and you’ve got to turn the other cheek, even though I know it’s hard.’ But we can’t get technicals. We just have to walk away. And then the league has to take care of stuff like that.”
