T-Wolves' Pat Beverley: 'No Better Feeling' Than Beating Clippers in Play-In Game
April 13, 2022
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley took great pleasure in beating his former team in the Western Conference postseason play-in tournament on Tuesday.
According to Ohm Youngmisuk, Beverley said the following after the T-Wolves defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 109-104 to clinch the No. 7 seed in the West: "To be written off like that [by them], he's injury-prone, he's old, to be able to play them in a play-in and beat their ass, no other [better] feeling."
With the win, Minnesota earned the opportunity to face the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs.
The 33-year-old Beverley spent four seasons with the Clippers before getting traded this past offseason. He played top-flight perimeter defense during his time in L.A. and helped the Clips reach the Western Conference Finals last season.
Last month, Beverley discussed how his departure from the Clippers went down, noting that he was expecting to re-sign with the organization.
Appearing on the Old Man and the Three podcast with former NBA guard JJ Redick (h/t HoopsHype.com), Beverley said:
"We in the Western Conference Finals, something the team has never done. Me being there from the beginning, I'm thinking that this contract extension, I'm thinking it's going to be easy. I walk in and they throw me a number that I felt was borderline disrespectful."
L.A. traded Beverley and other pieces to the Grizzlies for guard Eric Bledsoe, and Memphis then flipped Beverley to the Timberwolves just over a week later for Jarrett Culver and Juan Hernangomez.
It turned out to be a great pickup for Minnesota, as Beverley played 58 games (54 starts) and averaged 9.2 points, 4.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds, 1.4 three-pointers made and 1.2 steals per contest while shooting 40.6 percent from the field and 34.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Beverley also brought his veteran leadership and savvy to a team led by young stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards.
While Beverley scored only seven points on Tuesday, he pulled down 11 rebounds and dished out three assists in one of Minnesota's biggest wins in recent memory.
Tuesday's win gave the T-Wolves only their second playoff berth in the past 18 seasons, but the future appears bright for Minnesota thanks to its mix of rising stars and established veterans such as Beverley.