Mike Malone fires back at Patrick Beverley: 'I don’t listen to Patrick Beverley a whole lot'

Patrick Beverley made waves last night by accusing Nikola Jokic of flailing, and Mike Malone has now fired back.

After the LA Clippers defeated the Denver Nuggets in Game 3, Patrick Beverley was asked what difficulties Jokic presents Ivica Zubac in the center match up, and Beverley pulled no punches.

"Jokic presents the same type of, I don't know, I wouldn't say problems, but he presents the same thing Doncic presents, Luka presents, a lot of flailing," Beverley said. "You know, puts a lot of pressure on the referees to make the right call. I think Zu did a hell of a job. Six fouls did, what he needed to do. Got one big dunk at the end. Big free throws at the end. We got a win. I think that's the most important."

Jokic was asked about Beverley's comments after the game, and responded with a bit of a frustrated smirk. The center immediately mentioned the free-throw disparity between the two teams; the Nuggets shot 10, while the Clippers shot 26.

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

As expected, when Mike Malone was asked about Beverley's comments, he brushed it aside. Similar to Jokic, Malone also referenced the stat sheet.

"I don’t listen to Patrick Beverley a whole lot," Malone said. "If Kawhi Leonard was talking, maybe I might’ve listened to it. Kawhi is a great player. But all you have to do is look at the stat sheet."

While both Malone and Jokic reference the stat sheet, the stat sheet doesn't show the early foul trouble Ivica Zubac, JaMychal Green, and Montrezl Harrell were all in due to Jokic. It doesn't show the degree of fouls either. Regardless, Jokic is a phenomenal player who knows how to make the game of basketball come to him.

What remains to be seen is how Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets respond in Game 4. Beverley's comments have given the team bulletin board material to come back with a vengeance on Wednesday.