Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant finally found his rhythm in the first-round playoff series with the Los Angeles Clippers. After struggling mightily in the first two games, which included a Game 1 ejection, Durant came into Game 3 like a new player — one that mostly resembled his old self. In days leading up to the Game 3 tip, the Warriors — coach and players alike — put on poker faces when discussing the defensive pressure put on Durant by notorious NBA pest Patrick Beverley. Durant downplayed things by referring to Beverley as a “pest” and the Clippers as playing “a gimmick defense” through Beverley. Even Warriors center Andrew Bogut had something to say on Beverley — he commended Beverley for eking out a career on grit and grind alone: Give him credit. He’s not the most skilled guy in the world, he’s not the best shooter in the world, but the dude’s grinded out an NBA career. He started out in Europe. I can’t hate on him that much. He’s fighting for his livelihood and that’s the way he plays. A sideways compliment, to be sure. But while the Warriors were performing nonchalance in front of the cameras, Beverley’s shut-down defense on Durant in Games 1 and 2 was concerning enough for the Golden State organization that it sent reels to the NBA with questions about the legality of some of Beverley’s defensive moves on Durant. Nick Wright of Fox Sports reported on First Thing’s First that the team sent clips of Beverley “holding, clutching, grabbing … pushing” the All-Star forward in Games 1 and 2. The NBA has not released a statement about Golden State’s complaint, and action is not always taken when organizations do complain anyway. But Durant’s Game 3 turnaround begs some important questions: Did the league find fault with Beverley’s defense on Durant? If so, did league officials inform the Clippers and, most importantly, the referees of their concerns? Or, was Durant able to get free of Beverley in Game 3 because of the number Bogut did on the Clippers’ pesky player by, for starters, chasing him off screens or posting up on him? In all likelihood, the dramatically different result in Game 3 was a product of all factors rolled into one: the complaint, the Clippers getting knocked out of their game and the Warriors playing with more focus and intensity while also executing needed adjustments. But, for the sake of playing with numbers, let’s compare: By the numbers — Games 1 and 2 vs. Game 3 Averages for Games 1 and 2 Durant: 33 minutes, 22 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 personal fouls, 6 turnovers Beverley: 31.5 minutes, 6.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6 assists, 4.5 personal fouls, 2 turnovers Stats from Game 3 Durant: 30 minutes, 38 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 personal fouls, 5 turnovers Beverley: 18 minutes, 6 points, 1 rebound, 0 assists, 4 personal fouls, 1 turnover The biggest difference from the first two games to the third is the reduction in minutes for Beverley. With Bogut chasing him off spots to free up Durant, Beverley’s production dropped significantly — his pesky ways no longer worked — requiring Clippers coach Doc Rivers to try something else. Whether the Warriors’ call to the NBA’s overlords had any impact on the officiating in Game 3 is not quite clear. But complaining to the league about Beverley’s defense — instead of solely making the proper adjustments to improve Durant’s performance — won’t sit well with some, because the rest of the players in the league believe the Warriors benefit from “superstar calls,” as it is. Plus, nobody likes a snitch, and Dane Delgado of NBC Sports put it this way: For some this may be too rich coming from the Golden State organization. The team has made a living getting away with moving screens as a major part of their offense for years, and indeed on split cuts they certainly seem to grab a lot of jersey as a means to get some momentum started. Game 4 is Easter Sunday, April 21, at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC, and it should be a fun one. Learning that the Warriors made a call to the league about Beverley’s defense on Durant may “inspire” the Clippers toward a resurgence in momentum, just in time to even the first-round series, 2-2. Or, the series could descend into further chaos and confusion due to the Clippers’ putting Beverley on Durant which has, by any measure, turned out to be a defensive mismatch made in hell.<doc-sep>Photo : Ezra Shaw ( Getty Images ) When it came to the Warriors-Clippers series, t he prevailing prediction seemed to be that the Clippers hardly had a snowball’s chance in hell of st ealing at least one win from Golden State. However, the caveat to that pessimistic prediction was that Los Angeles could at least make things interesting. Both parts of that prediction came true on Saturday night when the Warriors beat the Clippers, 121-104. Advertisement It shouldn’t come as a major surprise that Patrick Beverley was involved in what made things “interesting” for the series. Regardless of what someone thinks of him, most people would agree that he tends to enjoy getting under the skin of opposing players—particularly those who are easy to bother. This is where Kevin Durant comes in. Up until the third quarter, things had been relatively quiet between the two players and the back-and-forth action could be described as “hard-nosed defense.” Then, Beverley was called for a reaching foul on Durant. The Clippers guard believed the only reason that was called was because Durant had flopped, and he made that known by repeatedly miming it in front of Durant. Of course, once that incident happened, it was a good way to cap off a montage of all the ways Beverley had been trying to bother the hell out of Durant throughout the game. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that things truly boiled over. Beverley was bringing the ball up and was preparing to back down Durant about 10 feet from the three-point line. Given that he’s not exactly the most skilled ball-handler, Beverley lost the dribble and tried to go ofter it. Durant also tried to go after the ball but seemed to also give the Clippers guard a mild shove in the process , which sent the guard into the scorer’s table. The Warrior started yelling at Beverley when he was down, Beverley got up to return some words back and the ref awarded double technicals, which resulted in both players getting ejected. Advertisement Going forward, it’s clear that neither of these players will have the same amount of leeway for their antics as they did in Game 1. But that officiating leash hasn’t stopped Beverley from becoming the irritant he’s always been known to be. If there’s an opening to get one of the Warriors’ best players so pissed off that it warrants an ejection, he’s always there to set that trap. It’s something that Steve Kerr acknowledged after the game. We took the bait. [Durant] took the bait. That’s two technicals. You get seven technicals and you’re seventh one is a suspension in the playoffs. Whether you play four playoff games or 24, seven is the magic number. So he’s got four to play with after one game. But that’s what Beverley does. We talked about it for the last couple days. He’s a hell of a defender, he plays hard, we’ve got a lot of respect for him. But you can not take the bait because, you know, that’s a bad trade for us. Clippers have made a lot of good trades this year and that was maybe their best. ﻿ Advertisement The Clippers will be lucky to get a game from the Warriors this series . But if the efforts of Beverley do enough to frustrate players who have already been having a, let’s say, less-than-ideal season as a group, then it’s likely that Los Angeles will also consider that a win in its own right.<doc-sep>Way to go, Patrick Beverley. And way to go, all of you people. After the Clippers’ miraculous win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 2, which saw them make the biggest comeback in NBA playoffs history, Patrick Beverley was being championed as the Man Who Can Stop Kevin Durant. Durant had been ejected from Game 1 following an altercation with Beverley, and then fouled out in a Game 2 performance which only saw him take eight shots, and hadn’t been himself. Beverley, who is eight inches shorter than Durant, was doing the impossible. Everyone loved it. Everyone made a big old deal out of it. And it went and ticked Durant off. In Game 3, the Warriors steamrolled the Clippers, winning 132-105. It was only that close because the Warriors took their foot off the gas in the fourth. They were on pace for much of the game for 150 points, and the man most responsible was Kevin Durant. Durant set the tone early, scoring the first three Warriors baskets and scoring 10 of their first 15 points (he had the assist on the other five points). A quick Warriors run later and all of a sudden it was 32-15 Warriors and the Clippers looked bewildered. Durant finished with 38 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds despite not, by his standards, having a terribly great shooting night. (He finished 3 of 10 from deep.) The Warriors were +32 when he was on the floor, and now have a 2-1 lead. What was that about Beverley being the Durant stopper? I’m being somewhat facetious, of course. I don’t think people crowing about Beverley actually motivated Kevin Durant all that much more than he is usually motivated, and Beverley’s aggressive tactics and “bulldog” approach (to use Durant’s phrasing in a surprisingly thoughtful interview he gave on the subject) ticked him off more than any tweets on the subject would. But all season long one thing has been true: The best team at beating the Golden State Warriors is the Golden State Warriors. They have the most talented roster in the league, and that remains true after they lost DeMarcus Cousins to injury. They have the best pure scorer in the league (Durant), the best pure shooter in the league (Stephen Curry), the second best pure shooter in the league (Klay Thompson) and two wildly overqualified “role” players in Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green. They’ve also had bickering this year, and weird drama, and have a penchant for throwing away games they had no business losing, much like they let the Clippers come back on them in Game 2. A lot of the time they looked like a team trying to find itself. Just as often they looked tired, which after this many consecutive runs to the NBA Finals, can you blame them? They’ve looked like a team looking for a spark. And if the noise surrounding Beverley gets Durant that tiny bit more focused, or allows the Warriors to come together around a common goal (letting KD show him up), that little bit could be just enough for the Warriors to sharpen up and destroy everyone.<doc-sep>The Warriors' Kevin Durant and the Clippers' Patrick Beverley have been clashing pretty badly during their recent games, with the two eventually getting ejected after receiving two double technicals in less than 20 seconds during the 4th quarter during a recent game. While Durant has apologized for his ejection, the Warriors aren't done with Beverley just yet. Fox Sports reports that the team sent in a tape to the NBA league office to complain about some of Beverley's plays on the court. In particular, they're pointing towards what they say is an illegal defense by the Clippers guard against Durant. Whether they believe it's deliberately antagonistic behavior on his part is unclear, but the report would indicate that they're definitely not happy with his "holding, clutching, grabbing...pushing." The team purportedly sent numerous clips of Beverley to the NBA before Game 3 against the Clippers, which took place Thursday night (April 18). It's not uncommon for teams to send clips to the league, but if true it likely won't do any favors for the tension the two have been showcasing on the court. During Game 3, Durant referred to Beverley as a "pest," as CBS Sports reports. "They're playing a gimmick defense which has been working," Durant said. "Top-locking everything on the perimeter, so guys are not even looking at the 3-point line, they're just forcing guys inside the 3-point line. So for us, when I get the ball in my spots, I got a pest, Patrick Beverley, who is up underneath me—who I can definitely shoot over the top and score every time if it's a one-on-one situation."<doc-sep>
NBA rumors: Warriors complained about Patrick Beverley's Kevin Durant defense originally appeared on nbcsportsbayarea.com Through two games of their first-round NBA playoff series, Patrick Beverley appeared to be flustering Kevin Durant. The Los Angeles Clippers guard had been tasked with pestering the Warriors star, and he had a modicum of success early on, as the series headed to L.A. knotted at one. That was after the Dubs blew a 31-point lead in Game 2, in which Durant turned the ball over nine times and put up just eight shots. While Beverley's impact on Durant in the first two games was overblown, the veteran guard was able to get away with a lot of physical play on the two-time NBA Finals MVP. The Warriors reportedly didn't like that, as they sent in some tape of how Beverley was defending Durant to the league office, according to FOX Sports' Nick Wright. "The Warriors team - the organization - sent the NBA a bunch of clips leading up to Game 3 of what they think is Patrick Beverley holding, clutching, grabbing … pushing.,' Wright said, via Pro Basketball Talk. Teams send tape to the league office all the time, so it's unlikely this will play a role in the series. [RELATED: What we learned from Warriors' blowout win over Clippers in Game 3] What will play a role, however, is the increased aggressiveness Durant showed Thursday night in the Warriors' blowout win in Game 3 at Staples Center. Durant torched Beverley and anyone else the Clippers threw at him in Game 3, pouring in 38 points on 14-of-23 shooting to lead the Warriors to a 132-105 win and a 2-1 series lead. From the opening tip, Durant got everything he wanted, and even two early fouls didn't stop the scorched-earth trail he was set on blazing through Staples Center. After a few days of hearing how Beverley had gotten in his head, Durant reminded everyone of his greatness, and it looks like the Warriors woke up a few rounds earlier than expected.