Kyrie sends message to Celtics fans after Mavs’ Game 2 loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Kyrie Irving just can’t help himself.
The Dallas Mavericks star has insisted that he has grown since he stomped on the Boston Celtics logo and criticized TD Garden fans in previous playoff games against his former team, and who is more focused on playing basketball to come and go with a hostile crowd.
But there was Irving. inciting the Garden crowd into a “Kyrie sucks!” sing in the first half, and giving the last word to Celtics fans as he walked off the court following Dallas’ 105-98 loss in Game 2 on Sunday that left the Mavs in a 2-0 hole in the series.
“See you in (Game) 5,” Irving appeared to tell the crowd as he held up five fingers, suggesting his team will win at least one of its next two games in Dallas to avoid a series sweep and set up a Game 5. at TD Garden next Monday.
Irving is certainly not the first player to make this move; Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards. made a similar guarantee in Denver after Minnesota’s Game 5 loss to the Nuggets, he then backed up his speech by forcing (and eventually winning) a Game 7 on the road.
However, if Irving wants to follow in Edwards’ footsteps, he will need to level up considerably between the whistles.
The eight-time All-Star has been dismal offensively through two games, averaging just 14 points (12 in Game 1 and 16 in Game 2) on 13-of-37 shooting. He is 0-for-8 from 3-point range in the series and is a -22 in 78 minutes of action.
Irving’s problems against the Celtics are nothing new either: he’s lost now 12 consecutive games to Boston dating back to March 6, 2022, when he was a member of the Brooklyn Nets. He is averaging just 19.7 points in those 12 games and making just 41.1 percent of his field goals and 26.4 percent of his three-point shots, including 0-fers in four of their last five postseason games against the Celtics.
Irving’s lack of production has significantly hurt the Mavs, who have not had a player outside of Luka Doncic score more than 20 points in these Finals. Players not named Doncic made just 2 of 17 3-pointers in Game 2, as Dallas has gotten virtually no production from either Irving or its role players.
Irving has been better at home in these playoffs (he’s averaging 24.1 points and 5.3 assists in eight games in Dallas), so maybe he’ll snap out of his slump in Games 3 and 4 without the Garden crowd mobbing his throat. But if that’s the case and he gets his wish to return to Boston for Game 5, another performance like the one Irving had on Sunday could potentially end the Mavs’ season.
Game 3 is scheduled for Wednesday at 8:30 pm ET, with NBC Sports Boston. Celtics pregame live starting at 7 pm Eastern Time.
