KEY POINTS

  • Kyrie Irving is not backing down from the commotion he had with fans of the Boston Celtics
  • Multiple incidents of him flipping off fans were caught on camera and shared across social media
  • Game 2 is set for Wednesday, April 20 at 7:00 PM ET

Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving has been one of the most polarizing presences in the NBA in recent years, and he could not care any less about the feelings of Boston Celtics fans following his Game 1 incident.

Following their razor-thin loss to the Celtics, Irving commented on his courtside altercation with a fan where he was seen flipping off someone in the front row.

“It’s nothing new when I come into this building what it’s gonna be like, but it’s the same energy they had for me, and [I’m going to] have the same energy for them,” Irving stated to open up his feelings on the situation.

“And it’s not every fan. I don’t want to attack every Boston fan, but when people start yelling ‘p----,’ and ‘b----,’ and ‘f--- you, and all this other stuff, there’s only but so much you can take as a competitor, and we’re the ones expected to be docile and be humble and take a humble approach.”

Irving was caught on camera at least twice, once by NBC Sports Boston and the other by a Twitter user who shared a clip of the broadcast where Irving was seen giving double middle fingers behind his head during the inbound.

The Celtics fans certainly got under the skin of Irving during this game as Boston was able to pull off the victory thanks to a buzzer-beater layup from Jayson Tatum.

Irving’s beef with the Celtics has been well-documented through the years, and it is almost unsurprising how this meeting turned out.

Co-star Kevin Durant, whose missed three-pointer opened up the opportunity for Tatum’s game-winner, said that he does not entirely subscribe to the idea that Irving worries about the volatile situation between him and the fans.

However, the 2016 NBA champion hinted that he does care a lot about it and noted that it is the playoff atmosphere that made him do it.

“It’s the playoffs. This is what it is. I know what to expect in here, and it’s the same energy I’m giving back to them. It is what it is.”

The Nets and Celtics meet again at TD Garden on Wednesday, April 20 for Game 2 at 7:00 PM ET.

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