LOS ANGELES — Patrick Beverley darted into the middle of the paint where he was surrounded by Los Angeles Lakers and still came away with the offensive rebound before flexing his bicep for everyone to see.
The play, which happened late in the fourth quarter as the LA Clippers were putting the finishing touches on a 113-105 win over the Lakers, symbolized the latest encounter between both Los Angeles teams.
“I want it more,” Beverley told FOX Sports West in the postgame interview. “We want it more. Like I said, everybody counted us out. Fine. We’ll take that. It’s a bigger picture for us. We are trying to make [the] playoffs and try[ing] to make a nice run in the playoffs.”
Like Beverley, the Clippers just keep grinding and proving people wrong as they’ve won three straight and are in seventh place in the Western Conference despite trading away their leading scorer and rebounder Tobias Harris at the trade deadline.
Meanwhile, the Lakers’ season keeps fading away as LeBron James watched his team fall for the ninth time in 12 games.
Beverley played a significant part in adding to the Lakers’ demise with 13 points, nine rebounds, five steals and four assists. He took on the assignment of guarding James and picking him up at halfcourt at times as well.
“Aggravating, defensive, hard-nosed, competitive,” teammate Montrezl Harrell said of Beverley. “That is what he brings to our game, that is what he brings every night. Before the coaches even went down to who’s got who, Pat came in and said I got LeBron.
“A guy who is below-average height when it comes to matching up with a guy of that caliber but he doesn’t care. That is what makes him special.”
Beverley’s tenacity helped set the tone for the Clippers. Beverley came into the game with something to prove, reminding some in the locker room on Sunday after the Clippers defeated the Knicks that he had predicted who would be the best team in L.A. before the season began.
“There was seven people in here on media day,” Beverley explained in the Clippers’ locker room after beating the Lakers. “I told Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander], look [around] the room, there’s seven people … watch at the end of the year [how many more there will be]. Like I said about us being the best team in L.A., a lot of people don’t believe me.”
Even though Beverley plays like he has something to prove every night, the Clippers guard looked extra motivated against the Lakers.
“I played for Miami, with LeBron,” Beverley said of being in training camp with the Heat in 2010. “They cut me. I got drafted by the Lakers, they traded me to Miami. Bron got there, they cut me.
“I remember it like it was yesterday. So yeah, there’s a chip on my shoulder.”