Patrick Beverley acted like he was about to hang a banner after the Timberwolves beat the Clippers on Tuesday night to make the playoffs as a No. 7 seed.
And while on paper, the pesky perimeter defender didn't exactly stuff the stat sheet, he took on among the tallest tasks of the night: Guarding Paul George one-on-one down the stretch. Beverley held the Clippers' biggest offensive threat during the game's last five minutes en route to a 109-104 win.
Of course, that's Beverley's entire game — guard-dog defense against the opponent's best perimeter threat.
After the contest, the guy went absolutely buckwild in front of the entire crowd, even chugging from a Bud Light can during his postgame presser.
Patrick Beverley just won the NBA Finals 😂 pic.twitter.com/DiR2prLcm2
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) April 13, 2022
This was personal for the former Clippers guard. Los Angeles dealt him away as surplus after refusing to sign him to an extension, one he publicly sought. Beverley was seen in tears after the game.
Plenty of people got their digs in about the theatrics, including Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley and the rest of the Inside the NBA crew.
"We need 'One Shining Moment'" 😂
Inside the NBA crew reacts to the Timberwolves' celebration after clinching the 7th seed. pic.twitter.com/kMkhQBhKkN
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 13, 2022
It'll be Minnesota's second playoff appearance since 2004, something Beverley alluded to in his response to some of the criticism he faced.
We celebrating because MINNESOTA DESERVES THIS. A LOT OF PAIN THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS. BE HAPPY FOR US 🐺❤️🐺❤️🙏🏾
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) April 13, 2022
The Wolves last made the playoffs in 2018, when they were the No. 8 seed and lost to the Rockets in five games during the first round.
Ahead of their series with the Grizzlies, where do the newly crowned world champions rank? Not well, according to oddsmakers. The Timberwolves are stark underdogs to win that series at every major American sportsbook.
DraftKings prices Minnesota as +250 underdogs and the Grizzlies as -310 favorites. PointsBet lists Minnesota with the same price, but Memphis with -325 odds.
Caesars has the T'Wolves as steep +280 underdogs and the Grizzlies as -360, the best and worst prices on the market for both.
Meanwhile, the price for Game 1 varies between books, but the consensus spread is at Memphis -6.5 or -7. As far as moneylines go, the Timberwolves can be found anywhere from +230 to +250, while the Grizzlies are hovering around -300 across the board.
