"I'm a big fan of protecting my teammates; I’m a foxhole guy" - Patrick Beverley reacts to leveling DeAndre Ayton

LA Lakers guard Patrick Beverley bodychecked Deandre Ayton after the Phoenix Suns center stared down Austin Reaves on Tuesday. The feisty Beverley didn’t like the disrespect Ayton and Devin Booker showed Reaves.

Here’s what he said in a postgame interview about the whole incident:

“I’m a big fan of protecting my teammates, especially teammates that I go to work for every night.

“I kinda feel like the play kinda got out of control after the staredown at Austin Reaves by Book and then another staredown by Ayton and the refs didn’t really come in and kind of break it up. I’m not going for that.

“Obviously, it’s unfortunate that it happened on national TV. I’m a big fan of protecting my teammates. I’m a foxhole guy. I put on a jersey, I commit to a team, I commit to a city. It’s kind of my motto.”

The dustup happened with 3:55 left in the game, with the Lakers trailing 106-96 when Reaves drove the baseline but was blocked by Booker. Booker’s hand hit Reaves in the face, which forced LA’s point guard to hit the deck in pain.

Initially, it was fair play, which led to Booker’s staredown of Reaves. Deandre Ayton, who grabbed the rebound after the miss, did the same thing as Booker did. Patrick Beverley came out of nowhere to level Ayton, who was standing over the prone Reaves.

Following the review, Devin Booker was assessed with a technical foul for hitting Austin Reaves’ face while Patrick Beverley was tossed out of the game. Beverley left the court before the review was completed, knowing fully well he would be ejected.

The Reaves incident was the boiling point of a heated back-and-forth that went on among Booker, Beverley, Ayton and Anthony Davis. It was just unfortunate that the quiet and unassuming Reaves was caught in the crossfire.

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Darvin Ham stands up for Patrick Beverley and his team

Darvin Ham didn't have any issues with what Patrick Beverley did to Deandre Ayton.

Darvin Ham, who gained a reputation during his playing career as a tough, no-nonsense player, backed up Patrick Beverley’s actions.

Here’s what he had to say about the altercation late in the game that caused Beverley’s ejection:

“You don’t want it to be just a tough man competition. You actually wanna play tough basketball. But at the end of the day, I’m not mad at him.

“He’s there protecting his teammate and I’m sure he’ll probably go through some type of consequence for that. That’s who we have to be as Lakers.

“We gotta be together. … We were together, we are together and it has to be our identity. Teams have to know that they can’t just push us around.”

Last season, the LA Lakers often looked lackadaisical. Teams would often just play hard and play physical on them and they would just wilt or fold under pressure.

Ham has his team competing on most nights, sometimes showing grit and, in the case against the Phoenix Suns, a literal fight. The Lakers seemingly sent a clear message to the rest of the NBA on Tuesday that they may fail to reach the playoffs, but will surely not be disrespected.