'Kyrie Sucks!': Mavs Star Takes High Road After Celtics Fans' Distasteful Chant
Three things are certain in this life: death, taxes, and apparently, Boston Celtics fans holding a grudge against Dallas Mavericks star point guard Kyrie Irving.
During Friday's matchup between the Mavs and Celtics, which ended up being a 138-110 blowout win for Boston, the TD Garden crowd booed Irving every time he touched the ball throughout the night. That wasn't enough, though, as they also started loudly chanting "Kyrie sucks!" toward the end of the game.
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In 37 minutes of action, Irving struggled against the Celtics, at least by his high standards, as he finished with 19 points on 9-23 shooting from the field and 1-7 from deep to go with four rebounds and two assists. Irving was a -15 on the night, but that wasn't really saying much, as every Maverick except for Dante Exum was a negative in the boxscore plus/minus.
In the past, Irving let the Boston crowd get to him, but on Friday, following the game, the eight-time All-Star took the high road on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Thank you for everything GOD," Irving said in his post. "I gotta stay poised and accept all the tests on this journey. The wins, the losses, and the emotional moments, are lessons to grow from. No matter what, I gotta keep persevering through the hate, the next generation is watching close."
Boston Globe's Gary Washburn spoke with Irving about the way Celtics fans booed him on Friday, and he believes they "had a right" to do so.
"They have a right to boo," Irving said. "From my career record against them in the last few games, I haven’t won, so until I beat them, they have all the right to continue to boo. I think that’s what makes the theatrics of sports and competitive sports fun. Just gotta embrace it. It’s part of it.”
Irving has received ultimate peace of mind while being with the Mavs for over a year now, and his maturity and growth bode well for what could lie ahead for this team. With the potential the Mavs have shown, perhaps they can make a long enough postseason run to give Irving a chance to have the last laugh against the Celtics in June.
