Kyrie Irving seemed to have words with a fan during Wednesday's game against the New York Knicks, but the Nets point guard indicated after Brooklyn's victory how the confrontation was more so a misunderstanding.
Irving, as shared by ESPN's "SportsCenter" Twitter account, walked past a fan while heading to the locker room at halftime, and then immediately turned back around and approached said fan, tapping him on the shoulder and causing what seemed to be a brief interaction.
Irving told reporters after the game he heard a message from someone in the stands that he did not like, but admitted it was not with the fan he approached.
"East Coast basketball at it's finest. People just yelling random (expletive) from the crowd. They wanted a reaction, they got one," Irving said, per SNY TV. "I think I tapped the wrong person so I apologize to the random guy that I tapped. He looked at me with a big surprise on his face. Somebody just said something and I was just fed up with our performance.
"And, you know, I've dealt with this kind of East Coast type of attitude in games since I was seven, eight years old so I've been in the trenches, as you would say," Irving continued. "Growing up, playing in different boroughs, being a Jersey kid and not being respected from New York basketball until I just stopped giving an 'F' about what their opinion was and just started reppin' the best way I knew how."
Irving, who isn't new to interactions with fans or some sort of controversy, did help Brooklyn come back from 17 points down at halftime to earn a double-digit win at Madison Square Garden. Irving scored 24 points with eight rebounds and seven assists in the win.
