Heading into Game 1 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference quarterfinals matchup between the second-seeded Boston Celtics and seventh-seeded Brooklyn Nets Sunday (which Boston won 114-113 on a last-second shot from Jayson Tatum), much of the talk was about how former Celtics’ player Kyrie Irving would be received in Boston. Yes, Irving had played in Boston since leaving the Celtics for the Nets in free agency after the 2018-19 season, including in a first-round playoff series last year (second-seeded Brooklyn won that series 4-1), but his returns there still come with a lot of discussion, especially around his comments on Celtics’ fans. And Irving (seen above warming up ahead of Sunday’s game) was booed throughout this game (in which he posted 39 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals), and he responded at one point in the fourth quarter by flipping fans a double bird behind his head:
This came after an earlier single bird:
Irving also appeared to yell “Suck my dick, bitch!” in response to a “You suck!” line from a fan earlier when he was walking to the locker room:
(That particular “Suck my dick” expression is a recurring one for Irving, who was fined $25,000 in 2017 for telling a Philadelphia 76ers fan the same thing.)
Here’s what Irving said afterwards on his reactions:
Kyrie Irving: "When people start yelling pussy and bitch and fuck you, there’s only so much you can take as a competitor…Nah fuck that, that's the playoffs, it is what it is. I know what to expect in here and I’m ready to give the same energy back to them." https://t.co/AIhGfqNsRK
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) April 17, 2022
It is also at least funny that his head coach, Steve Nash, said there wasn’t any atmosphere that could rattle Irving:
Irving certainly delivered a great on-court performance Sunday, but he also made some headlines for his reactions towards fans. And it will be interesting to see if the NBA fines him again over that, and if so, for how much.
[Alex Schiffer on Twitter; image from David Butler II/USA Today Sports]