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Patrick Beverley and Russell Westbrook clash on court, continue war of words after Game 5

malika andrews
The Rockets' Patrick Beverley (left) and the Thunder's Russell Westbrook (right) yell at each other during the second half of Game 5. (AP/David J. Phillip)
The Rockets’ Patrick Beverley (left) and the Thunder’s Russell Westbrook (right) yell at each other during the second half of Game 5. (AP/David J. Phillip)

Tensions ran high between Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook and Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley on Tuesday night, on the court and in their postgame news conferences.

The heated exchange began midway through the fourth quarter of Game 5, when Beverley intercepted a pass intended for Westbrook. Westbrook immediately grabbed Beverley around the waist to foul him, and the two longtime combatants began to bicker:

Here is that Westbrook face one more time:

It is unclear what exactly was said in the moment. After the Rockets finished off a 105-99 win to eliminate the Thunder from the postseason, though, we learned it had something to do with Westbrook saying he couldn’t be guarded and Beverley boasting about his defense.

“[Westbrook] looked up and said, ‘No one can guard me, I got 40 points,'” Beverley told reporters after the game. “I’m like, ‘That’s nice. You took 34 shots to get it.’ I’m not up here trying to bash anybody, but men lie, women lie [but] the numbers don’t. Collectively, as a unit, we’ve done a great job on him. We’ve tried to make him shoot a lot of tough shots, and the numbers show.”

Westbrook, as you might expect, had a slightly different take.

“He was talking ’bout how he was first team All-Defense, but I didn’t know what the hell he was talking about, because I had 42 at the time,” Westbrook said. “I don’t know what he [was] talking ’bout. Maybe he was dreaming or some s—. I don’t know. Sorry, excuse my cuss word. But, I don’t know what he was talking about, but I guess he wanted to be first team All-Defense or something. Maybe he was dreaming about it. I don’t know.”

Westbrook finished with 47 points on 34 shots to go with 11 rebounds and nine assists in the loss. Beverley had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Rockets, who will advance to take on the winner of matchup between the second-seeded San Antonio Spurs and seventh-seeded Memphis Grizzlies. The steal that sparked the heated conversation with Westbrook was Beverley’s only one of the game.