Pat Beverley serves as Rockets' constantly pounding heart

Lou Williams walked off the court, headed toward the tunnel and coolly slapped his hand.

Mike D'Antoni described him with the same words we've used for years: edgy, feisty, fighter.

James Harden just started shaking his head side to side the second the name was mentioned.

Pat Beverley.

Still a Rocket, after all this time. More essential than ever to the third-best team in the Western Conference.

"(Beverley) wasn't going anywhere," Harden said Monday before the defensively challenged Rockets fell 117-108 to Indiana at Toyota Center, sounding like a general manager, MVP, teammate and brother all at once.

If you know Beverley's backstory - and what a story it is - you already know that the 28-year-old Chicago native created his own life arc and literally bounced all over the globe before anyone in the NBA gave him a real shot.

That tale grew even stronger thanks to the chaos of last week's trade deadline. While the Rockets were searching for another weapon during a season no one expected, Beverley said his agent told him that more than half the league called about a fifth-year pro who's now outlasted everyone from Jeremy Lin and Chandler Parsons to Aaron Brooks and Ty Lawson in Houston.

For the first time in Beverley's world-crossing, constantly up-and-down career, he's truly wanted by one team and loved by its fanbase. Better than that, anyone who's watched the Rockets' revival this season understands the No. 42 overall pick of the 2009 draft - Beverley waited four years just to crack the Association - has become almost irreplaceable in 2017.

"This is the only team that really gave me a chance. And as long as I'm here, my loyalty stays here," said Beverley, who's averaging career highs in rebounds (5.7), assists (4.5) and steals (1.5), while putting up 9.6 points in 30.5 nightly minutes.

"I owe them a lot," Beverley said. "I owe them my life for that, because they really helped me - they really saved my life, you know?"

Beverley also created his own world.

He didn't start as a rookie in 2012-13. When he stuck around a year later, he was never supposed to be good enough to be on the court at the opening tip, then was widely seen as a necessary upgrade if the Rockets were going to take the next step.

A survivor

Dwight Howard came and went. Kevin McHale and J.B. Bickerstaff gave way to D'Antoni. The Wolverine always remained - and five seasons later is playing the best overall ball of his wonderfully gritty career.

D'Antoni: "He's really, really important to what we do."

Harden kindly referred to his longtime teammate as a "tenacious dog." Then he mentioned constant energy, effort and trash talk.

Beverley, in a nutshell.

"That's what allows us to be who we are," Harden said.

Beverley dropped 17 pounds last offseason to be lighter and more free in 2016-17. He's fought off injuries, refuses to sit out and has occasionally ruled himself in when he clearly could have taken the night off.

All those guys who make millions to play a game for a living, then "suit up" by wearing a flashy jacket and sit on a soft bench until they're exactly 100 percent? They're the anti-Beverley.

He's pushing himself harder than normal now, so he's ready for what could be a two-month playoff battle. He kicked into two-a-day workouts after the All-Star break, just so he can deal with anything that might try to deter him.

"It's due to the way I play," said Beverley, referring to his injuries. "I play so hard, it's hard to maintain that throughout a whole season. But I feel like - I know - I'm the heart and soul of this team."

If Les Alexander was ahead of the curve with the D'Antoni hire, Beverley might have been ahead of us all. He called Harden as MVP when 99 percent of NBA-land was still doubting The Beard. He also was pushing Eric Gordon early for Sixth Man of the Year and swearing that these Rockets could hang with Golden State, Cleveland, San Antonio and anyone else in their way.

Beverley is who he is. No apologies. All in.

"It's not fabricated," he said. "The reason that I fit with the Houston Rockets is because they accept me for who I am. I'm not a white-collar guy - no offense. I'm just a blue-collar guy, hard-nosed. I am how I am. I talk the way I talk. I carry myself the way I carry myself."

But he turns off the fire when the arena lights disappear, right?

Yeah, right.

"I'm aggressive. I walk with a demeanor. I walk into the house and I fill up the whole house," he said. "It's just how I am and people around me, they accept it. … So when I come to the game, it's natural. I'm in my zone."

Beverley then smiled and thanked his fiancée for reaching him.

"Everybody give my girl a lot of credit," he said. "Like, 'I don't know how you can tame that beast.' "

Drawn to him

A Rocket walked by and playfully messed with Beverley's hair. As teammates and coaches moved into the tunnel, few strode past without saying something or motioning to the Rockets' heartbeat.

Beverley just sat on a chair with a towel wrapped around his neck and kept firing away.

He would run through walls for this team.

He could feel the commitment coming from everywhere.

He was wanted. And, more than ever, he was a Rocket.

What runs through Beverley's mind when another ball is thrown up and another opponent waits on the other side?

"I'm going to go out here and bust their (butt)," he said.

The Rockets could use another Beverley.