SI

Kyrie Irving Had Classy Gesture After NBA Finals Game 5 Loss vs. Celtics

Kristen Wong

Screengrab on Twitter/ @BulletClubIta
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Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving’s two-year stint in Boston may not have been that rosy, but Irving was determined to leave TD Garden on a good note on Monday night.

Irving was subbed out late in the fourth quarter of the Mavericks’ 196-88 loss to the Celtics in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, and as he was leaving the court, he made sure to congratulate several Celtics players and coaches on their 18th NBA championship, including Derrick White, Jrue Holiday and Joe Mazzulla.

The moment was pure class.

Irving, a Celtic from 2017 to ‘19, infamously stomped on the TD Garden leprechaun logo during a playoff win three years ago. After his latest classy gesture, though, Irving may have just extended an olive branch to the franchise he never quite fit into.

The eight-time All-Star finished with 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting in Monday’s Finals loss.

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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.

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