Kyrie Irving Fined $50,000 By NBA For Interactions With Celtics Fans
BOSTON (CBS) -- Kyrie Irving said after his Game 1 loss to the Celtics that he's embracing the "dark side" of this ongoing rivalry. Doing so has come at a price.
The NBA fined the Nets superstar $50,000, the NBA announced Tuesday.
Irving gave the middle finger to fans several times during Sunday's contest, and he made a lewd comment to a fan while heading to the Brooklyn locker room after Jayson Tatum hit a buzzer-beating layup around Irving to win the game for Boston.
"When people start yelling '[expletive]' or '[another expletive]' and '[expletive] you' and all this stuff, there's only but so much you take as a competitor," Irving said after his 39-point performance. "We're the ones expected to be docile and be humble, take a humble approach. [Expletive] that, it's the playoffs. This is what it is."
Irving added: "Embrace it. It's the dark side. Embrace it."
Irving's history with Boston and the Celtics is long, and as a result, he's become a target of quite a bit of negative attention during his visits back to the city.
He'll be back in the TD Garden on Wednesday night, as the Nets look to tie the series with Boston at one game apiece.