Kent Bazemore Responds to Bradley Beal Tweets: 'I Guess You Can't Joke Anymore'

Nick Wass/Associated Press

Golden State Warriors forward Kent Bazemore said Monday he was just having a little fun while supporting teammate Stephen Curry when he referenced the injured hamstring of the Washington Wizards' Bradley Beal.

"Forty-nine points in 29 minutes, though, that's unreal," Bazemore told reporters about Curry's performance Saturday against the Oklahoma City Thunder during shootaround before Monday's game against the Utah Jazz. "Then we got guys hurting hamstrings, trying to keep up. So, y'all gotta do some research on that."

Beal, who missed the Wizards' game Monday against the Atlanta Hawks because of his hamstring, fired back in a series of Twitter posts:

Bazemore was asked about the situation after Monday's 119-116 win over the Jazz.

"I guess you can't joke anymore," Bazemore said. "I don't say things to ruffle feathers, but ... if you want to know where my loyalty is, it's to [Curry]. Anyone out there chasing him, it's gonna be tough."

He added there was "nothing malicious about that comment."

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Curry (31.9 points per game) and Beal (31.4) are locked in a close race for the NBA's scoring title heading into the final games of the regular season. Curry was the league's scoring champion for the 2015-16 season.

Beal, who's seeking his first scoring title, has been ruled out through at least Wednesday because of the hamstring injury, which would leave him just two more contests to improve his scoring average.

Curry, Bazemore and the Warriors are back in action Tuesday night to face the Phoenix Suns in the team's third-last game of the campaign.