ICYMI: Luka Doncic loses his cool and appears extremely annoyed as Patrick Beverley tries to get in his head

Luka Doncic and Pat Beverley had another testy encounter in the Dallas Mavericks' closely-fought win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. [Photo: The Denver Post]

With the Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks jockeying for a better playoff seeding, the Luka Doncic versus Patrick Beverley confrontation was bound to happen.

Last night’s matchup between the Wolves and the Mavs featured two teams who are pushing to land a top-four spot in the West. In due time, the inevitable face-off between the Slovenian superstar and "Pat Bev" made the game even more enticing.

Luka Doncic and Patrick Beverley got tangled with a little over three minutes left in the third quarter, and the Mavericks were up by nine. They’ve already exchanged taunts earlier in the game and their mini-battle was only heating up.

Doncic’s frustrations barely kept him from retaliating when the Wolves’ defensive ace did this:

Pat Bev and Luka 😂 https://t.co/jzcNAgZksQ

The Mavs’ franchise player looked extremely annoyed this time, particularly as Patrick Beverley was just laughing and egging the Slovenian to get back at him. To Luka Doncic’s credit, he kept his composure and drained a big-time three right after Beverly went to the bench for a quick rest.

Dallas’ three-time All-Star has had a few run-ins with Beverley in the last few years, especially when the latter was playing for the LA Clippers. The Mavs and the Clippers have had some really physical and tough postseason matches. Along the way, the 22-year-old superstar and Beverley have gotten it on a few times already.

While nothing more drastic happened after their most recent encounter, the closely-fought match meant Beverley was in Doncic’s face for most of the night. If the two teams meet again in the playoffs, expect both players to be going back-and-forth for the whole series.

Patrick Beverley nearly outdueled Luka Doncic down the stretch of the Timberwolves vs Mavs thriller

Beverley has gotten under Doncic's skin a few times in the past. [Photo: YouTube]

Patrick Beverley earns his dough as a defensive force and an instigator for his team. However, he very nearly led the Minnesota Timberwolves to a huge win over the Dallas Mavericks with his offense. In the last minute of their game, “Pat Bev” made his presence felt.

With 6.5 seconds remaining in the game, the Timberwolves point guard went for a game-tying three-pointer when he was fouled by Reggie Bullock. The refs’ decision to call a foul before the attempt meant that instead of three, Beverley would only shoot two free throws.

After failing to score his first attempt, he purposely bounced the ball off the rim, got the rebound and went for the putback shot. The refs initially called a foul on Luka Doncic before head coach Jason Kidd’s challenge overturned the call.

After Karl-Anthony Towns won the jump ball, the Wolves still had a chance to tie the game with Patrick Beverley hitting a big three-point shot.

However, it was evident that Doncic fouled him. The Timberwolves were unable to secure the rebound after another intentional miss as the Mavericks took a 110-108 win.

Just after the game ended, Luka Legend had the final say, smirking at Beverley and gesturing that the latter was only good with talking.

You can see Doncic's gesture here:

Bye Bye, Beverley https://t.co/fUATjaEsIb

If the basketball gods grant a playoff series between these two teams, the NBA will get front-row tickets to the Luka Doncic-Patrick Beverley battle.