NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Los Angeles Clippers guard Patrick Beverley was suspended one game without pay by the NBA on Saturday for knocking down Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul in a playoff loss.
Beverley was banned for unsportsmanlike shoving Paul from behind onto the court during a stoppage in play with 5:49 remaining in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s 130-103 Suns’ victory over the host Clippers.
Paul’s Suns advanced to the NBA Finals with the triumph while Beverley was given a technical foul and ejected for the move.
Beverley will be suspended for the first game of the 2021-22 NBA regular season for which he is eligible to play.
Beverley, a nine-season NBA veteran with Houston and the Clippers, averaged 7.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists a game for the Clippers, who reached their first Western Conference final only to lose to the Suns.
Paul spent six seasons with the Clippers but departed in 2017 in the same deal with Houston that sent Beverley to the Clippers.
© Agence France-Presse