Despite the Dallas Mavericks facing a daunting 0-2 deficit to overcome in the NBA Finals, Kyrie Irving walked off the court on Sunday proclaiming to Boston fans that the series isn’t over yet. The veteran guard firmly believes Dallas will be back at TD Garden for Game 5 following the next two games at American Airlines Center. While Kyrie promises a bold return, his performance has been questionable at best in this series so far, with the Mavs guard leaving Game 2 with only 16 points.
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While the Dallas side walked off the court after the game, Irving was seen jawing off things to the Celtics fans in attendance. He even held out his five fingers to the crowd, implying that he would return to TD Garden for the fifth Game. Therefore, Kyrie certainly believes that the series is far from over.
However, the situation looked pretty bleak for the road team in Game 2. The Dallas Mavericks struggled once again at TD Garden, and a hobbled Luka Doncic’s 32-11-11 couldn’t keep the team in the competition. Irving, who frequently aids Doncic’s scoring, was nowhere to be seen.
Kyrie telling the crowd they’ll be back for game 5 pic.twitter.com/IowCsQdY6M
— Finals Jazz (@jazzlynn626) June 10, 2024
Despite his confidence, it’s difficult to see how the Mavericks, and especially Kyrie can make a comeback in Game 3. While the crowd at Dallas will surely play in the Mavericks’ favor, the Celtics have simply looked like the better team this year.
However, Irving’s storied history with Boston fans has prevented him from staying out of trash-talking despite consecutive losses. After claiming that the Garden crowd wasn’t loud enough after Game 1, Kyrie has once again thrown a challenge at Boston fans. It will be interesting to see if he can back it up.
Kyrie Irving does not like his former team, the Boston Celtics
The ghost of the Celtics seems to be following Irving everywhere he goes. After leaving Boston in 2019, Irving set out to prove that he was not the problem in Boston. But a series of freak accidents and locker room drama derailed the Nets’ chances of winning a championship.
In the meantime, the Celtics made four Conference Finals appearances since Irving’s departure and even came close to winning the 2022 NBA championship.
But Irving never stopped jawing at Celtics fans. Since he departed from the Celtics, the 32-year-old has likened the Boston faithful to a ‘scorned girlfriend,’ accused the fans of ‘subtle racism,’ burnt sage to ‘cleanse the energy’ in the Boston arena, stomped on the Celtics’ logo ‘Lucky’, and famously flipped off the raucous crowd during the 2021 playoffs.
It’s clear as day that Irving dislikes the fans in Boston and vice-versa. But he certainly needs to show up in Game 3 to reunite with them once again.
