NBA investigating incident with fan and Rockets guard Patrick Beverley

The NBA is investigating an incident between Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley and an Oklahoma City Thunder fan following Game 3 at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Friday night, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

As seen on video that was published by ESPN, which telecast the Thunder's 115-113 win in which Beverley had just one point and missed all six of his shots in 25 minutes, Beverley had two heated exchanges with a male fan who was sitting behind the basket. During the game, Beverley had fallen at the man's feet after barreling through the lane and attempting a layup. The fan, according to the Norman Transcript, was Stuart Scaramucci, who is the son of Thunder minority owner Jay Scaramucci.

When he arose, Beverley clearly took exception to something the fan said or did and can be seen pleading with officials to handle the situation. After the game, Beverley and the same fan can be seen exchanging words before arena employees and a Rockets security guard usher him away. The Rockets lead the first-round series 2-1 with Game 4 on Sunday.

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Beverley, a 28-year-old who spent his early years playing professionally overseas before breaking into the NBA with the Rockets in 2013, is routinely booed during games in Oklahoma City, due in large part to his history with the Thunder. Most of the animosity stems from when the Rockets' guard knocked into Russell Westbrook in the 2013 playoffs, leaving Westbrook with a torn meniscus. Some of it is simply due to his style of play, as Beverley is the kind of rugged defender that gets under the skin of opponents and their fans alike.

As he discussed leading into the game on Friday, Oklahoma City is the most hostile environment he faces in all the NBA.

"It’s a tough place to play," Beverley said. "It’s alright. I get booed everywhere I go. I get booed a lot here...But you know, it's part of the game. It is what it is."

It could always be worse, of course. And it has been, in fact, for Beverley.

"Well I got hit in the face with quarters overseas," he said. "I don’t think no one’s hitting me in the face here, so I’d probably say it’s pretty much better here than overseas. In Turkey, I’d get lasers in my eyes (from fans with handheld laser pointers) and stuff like that...little firecracker bombs going off in the back. Stuff like that, so I don’t think any of that is happening over here, so I think I’m going to be ok."

The Norman Transcript first reported the incident.