Lakers' Patrick Beverley Suspended 3 Games by NBA After Shoving Suns' Deandre Ayton

The NBA announced Thursday that Los Angeles Lakers guard Patrick Beverley has been suspended three games for pushing Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton from behind during Phoenix's 115-105 win Tuesday.

The incident occurred in the fourth quarter when Ayton stood over Lakers wing Austin Reaves (20-second mark of video):

Beverley will begin serving the ban Friday against the San Antonio Spurs.

Before the suspension was announced, Beverley seemingly disagreed with the decision on Twitter:

Speaking to reporters after the game, Beverley did not apologize for pushing Ayton:

"Got a person on the ground, two people looking over mean-mugging and puffing their chest out and referees don't get into it to kind of separate it, control the game, so I'm going to stand up for my teammate. ...

"I'm not going for that s--t. Obviously, it's unfortunate that it happened on national TV. But you know me: Regardless of what's going on, I'm a big fan of protecting my teammates. ... I'm a foxhole guy. I put on the jersey, and I commit to a team, I commit to a city, and it's kind of my motto. I'm a foxhole guy.

"Very unfortunate situation, though."

Following Phoenix's win, Suns All-Star guard Devin Booker addressed the altercation between Beverley and Ayton in an interview with Chris Haynes of TNT (50-second mark):

Booker said Beverley "needs to stop pushing people in the back" and suggested he should settle issues face to face.

The crew on TNT's Inside the NBA also discussed the situation, and Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith gave differing takes (at 4:30 in video):

The Lakers acquired Beverley in August in a trade that sent Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson to the Utah Jazz.

In his 11th NBA season, the 34-year-old is averaging a career-low 4.1 points per game with 3.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists. He is shooting just 26.6 percent from the field and 23.8 percent from beyond the arc.

With Russell Westbrook's struggles last season, the Lakers brought in Beverley to take on some of the point guard minutes, but the move hasn't paid off, and L.A. is 5-11.

Because of his suspension, Beverley will miss two games against the Spurs and one against the Indiana Pacers before being eligible to return Nov. 30 when the Lakers host the Portland Trail Blazers.