Chicago Bulls guard Patrick Beverley was looking forward to Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers for a long time.
He started this season as a member of the Lakers after they traded Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson to the Utah Jazz to get him. He played very poorly over the first several weeks of the schedule, but he started to heat up — only to get traded again, this time to the Orlando Magic, who subsequently released him.
Shortly after signing with Chicago, Beverley then said he wanted to knock the Lakers out of the playoffs when his Bulls faced them on Sunday.
Los Angeles isn’t exactly out of the postseason picture after its 118-108 loss to Beverley’s crew, as it still holds ninth place in the Western Conference, but he had his moments of fun.
Late in the fourth quarter, he scored a key basket on LeBron James, then lowered his hand toward the ground, which, in the NBA, means a player is saying his defender is “too small.”
Later, Beverley held his nose as if to say the Lakers stink.
Afterward, he claimed all it was in good fun.
Via Los Angeles Times:
“I do it to everybody,” Beverley said. “I was just having fun, getting lost in the game. Just getting lost in the game, having fun, man. We’re not construction workers. We’re not guys that have to get up at 4 o’clock in the morning. We’re professional basketball players. It’s all about having fun. That’s what we tried to do tonight, well, what I tried to do tonight.”
The Lakers and Bulls will face off again on Wednesday, this time in Chicago, which will give James and company a shot at revenge.
More Latest Lakers News!
LeBron James reveals the details of his right foot tendon injury
Story originally appeared on LeBron Wire