Advertisement

Patrick Beverley takes 'flailing' swipe at Nikola Jokic, who asks what it means

Patrick Beverley took two swipes in one mention after the Los Angeles Clippers took a 2-1 advantage in their Western Conference semifinal series against the Denver Nuggets on Monday.

Beverley placed Nuggets star Nikola Jokic and the Dallas MavericksLuka Doncic, who the Clippers beat in the previous round, in the same category for flailing.

Beverley calls out Jokic for ‘flailing’

Jokic dominated in Game 3 and nearly had a triple-double with 32 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. The Clippers’ Ivica Zubac was tasked with guarding Jokic, but fouled out in 22 minutes against the 7-foot, 284-pound center.

After the game Beverley, who was ejected and fined for verbally abusing an official in Game 2, praised Zubac and called out Jokic for lobbying referees to get calls his way.

Beverley’s comments:

"Jokic presents the same type of, I don't know, I wouldn't say problems, but he presents the same thing Doncic presents — a lot of flailing, you know, puts a lot of pressure on referees to make the right call. I think Zu did a helluva job — all the six fouls and what we needed him to do, big and-1 dunk, free throws at the end. We got a win. I think that is the most important."

Paul George also noted he doesn’t think a lot of the calls were actual fouls.

To that, a video clip:

Jokic questions flailing, points to box score

Patrick Beverley with hands up on the court.
The Los Angeles Clippers' Patrick Beverley reacts to a call in front of the Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic during the series. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Jokic was asked about the comments on his own video call after the game. He first asked what flailing meant. He then pointed to the numbers.

"They had 26 free throws. We had 10," he said. "I am just showing the ref it is a foul."

Jokic was 3-of-4 from the free-throw line in Game 3. He’s made eight of a total 10 attempts so far in the three-game series.

The Clippers have gone to the line 82 times; the Nuggets have taken 44 trips.

“You need to know when to be aggressive. You need to know to get into the body. Sometimes the advantage of the whistle is on your side or on the opponent's side,” Jokic said, via ESPN. “They are a little bit more experienced than us in those situations, so maybe that's it.”

More from Yahoo Sports: