It caused quite the stir on social media, led to one Boston columnist saying he's never seen hatred like Celtics fans have for Kyrie Irving, and will be the gesture heard 'round the basketball world for weeks: Irving giving the crowd at TD Garden Sunday a one-finger salute in the fourth quarter of the Nets' eventual loss to the Celtics.
It may have been un-gentlemanly, but to Irving, Boston's latest Bird was the culmination of frustration after "Kyrie sucks!" was the NICEST chant the crowd gave the ex-Celtic all day.
"Where I'm from, I'm used to all these antics and people being close, nearby. It's nothing new when I come to this building what it's going to be like," Irving said after the game. "It's the same energy they have for me and I'm going to have the same energy for them. I don't want to attack every Boston fan, but when people start yelling p***y, bitch, and f**k you there's only so much you can take as a competitor."
Irving has been a crusader for social justice over the last few years, and that includes sticking up for himself, too.
"We're the ones expected to be docile and humble…nah f**k that, it's the playoffs," he said. "It is what it is. I know what to expect in here and it's the same energy I'm giving back to them. I'm not really focused on it; it's fun."
Kyrie hasn't exactly been a Saint, to be fair, recently comparing Celtics fans who can't get over his departure in 2019 to a "scorned ex-girlfriend." But, he says, he knows that if he can dish it out, he's going to get it, and he's embracing the heel role in Beantown.
"All is fair in competition," Irving said. "It's the dark side, embrace it."
Kyrie did his best to quiet the crowd on the court by dropping 39, including 18 in the fourth, but the middle finger will be a blemish on a game that came down to a buzzer-beater.
And we'll do it all again at least once more, as Game 2 is set for Wednesday night at TD Garden, and the Nets could come back for a potential Game 5 on April 27 or a deciding Game 7 on May 1.
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