Celtics fans let Kyrie Irving hear throughout Game 1 of the NBA Finals, but one fan might have actually gotten in the head of the Mavericks star.
Irving scored 12 points and missed all five of his 3-point attempts in Dallas' loss to Boston at TD Garden on Thursday. C's supporters peppered the All-NBA guard with boos and raucous chants whenever he touched the ball.
The 32-year-old, who lost his 11th-straight game against the Celtics after Thursday, gave props to fans after the game though said in jest he thought the crowd was going to be louder. Irving claimed before the NBA Finals that he had moved on from his past experiences in TD Garden. However, that might not have been the case.
"He was very busy during the same," Mike Gorman said on 98.5 The Sports Hub's "Toucher & Hardy." "He had a running dialogue going on with a guy in about the sixth row. He's running up and down the court, and he's yelling at this guy and giving this guy kind of the finger. It's just crazy."
Story continues below advertisement
Gorman said he sat a few rows back from the fan and saw Irving yelling obscenities and pointing at the fan jawing at him. The retired voice of the Celtics noted this happened during the game and was something he had rarely seen.
Any inkling of a fan getting in Irving's head and possibly affecting his play likely will hype up Boston fans even more heading into Game 2. Irving and Luka Doncic will hope for a better response as the Celtics hope to take a 2-0 series lead into Dallas.
Featured image via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images