The NBA playoffs have begun — and how. In Boston, the game against Brooklyn was the possible game of the year. In addition to sporting highlights, there was also a side show.
Kyrie Irving’s strained relationship with fans of his former team, the Boston Celtics, has reached a new high. In the first game of his Brooklyn Nets’ playoff series against the Celtics (114:115), the point guard was consistently booed and insulted. Towards the end of the game, the 30-year-old showed his anger.
Irving gave the middle finger to the fans behind him during an interruption on the touchline. He then imitated the “crying” supporters of the Celtics and shook his head. The reaction: malicious laughter and insults.
He gave the fans “the same energy they gave me,” Irving said after the game, which Boston won in the last second with superstar Jayson Tatum’s basket. Irving himself also converted his emotions into 39 points.
“Fuck it, it’s the playoffs.”
“It’s not every fan, I don’t want to attack every Boston fan,” said Irving, who has been regularly booed by Celtics fans since moving to Brooklyn in 2019. But if fans become abusive, he can only take it up to a certain limit. “We’re the ones who’re expected to be meek and humble – fuck it, it’s the playoffs.”
The next duel in the “TD Garden”, the Celtics’ hall, is scheduled for the night from Wednesday to Thursday.
The other results of the first playoff round:
Dallas Mavericks 93-99 Utah Jazz
Memphis Grizzlies 117-130 Minnesota Timberwolves
Philadelphia 76ers 131:111 Toronto Raptors
Golden State Warriors 123-107 Denver Nuggets
Miami Heat 115-91 Atlanta Hawks
Milwaukee Bucks 93-86 Chicago Bulls
Phoenix Suns 110:99 New Orleans Pelicans