Neither Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka nor Jaylen Brown seemed to give much thought when reflecting on the Game 1 feud between Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving and fans at TD Garden.
Irving, who was booed by fans from tipoff until final buzzer, flashed his middle finger twice during Sunday afternoon’s contest while also offering a vulgar response to a Celtics fan who yelled “Kyrie, you suck!” Irving went on to have an expletive-filled response after Boston’s 115-114 victory on Jayson Tatum’s buzzer-beater, expressing how he was giving the same energy back after what he was receiving.
It prompted Irving to be fined $50,000 by the NBA on Tuesday.
Udoka was asked about Irving’s postgame comments and in-game antics but said how the Celtics were not concerning themselves with that storyline in the best-of-seven series.
“I didn’t hear all the postgame comments. I heard some of them. But, like, we’re not worried about that, obviously,” Udoka said on a video conference Tuesday. “It’s a deal he has with the team he’s been with. Had similar thing in Cleveland and, you know, last year at times and so our focus is guarding him and stopping him from getting 39 (points), not worried about what’s going on with him and the fans.”
Brown expressed similar sentiments as Udoka while even sharing how he was not aware of what Irving was doing during the game. Irving’s first flip of the bird came after hitting a tough shot over Brown in the second half.
“I was not aware,” Brown said during a video conference Tuesday. “I’m focused on, all my energy is on our team and what we got to do to win games. I wasn’t focused on anything else, to be honest. And that’s all I’m focused on now.”
Irving and the Nets will return to TD Garden on Wednesday as the Celtics, a 3.5-point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook, host Game 2 with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
