Dallas Mavericks' Kyrie Irving Speaks on Hostile Boston Celtics Crowd, Chess Match of NBA Finals

Kyrie Irving shared his reaction to the Boston Celtics' hostile crowd after the Dallas Mavericks' Game 1 loss in the NBA Finals, along with potential adjustments.

Jun 6, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) steals the ball from Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) in the first quarter during game one of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

BOSTON — Kyrie Irving had an underwhelming Game 1 performance against the Boston Celtics, finishing with 12 points in what was a 107-99 loss for the Dallas Mavericks. One of the storylines was the continued disdain the TD Garden crowd holds for Irving, often chanting "Kyrie sucks!"

In the postgame press conference, Irving downplayed the impact of the environment Celtics fans created in the arena, saying he's used it by now. "It's basketball at the end of the day. You know, being in this environment, I'm used to it at this point," he said.

Jun 6, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) steals the ball from Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) in the first quarter during game one of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Irving did acknowledge that when he faced the Celtics in the earlier stages of his NBA career, there was a different circumstance with him not being one of the veteran leaders of the team. There's a different responsibility now with him being in that role of needing to settle the group into the game.

"Early in my career, there was a different relationship that I had with Boston and just being able to come here, be settled with a veteran group," Irving said. "Now I'm here as a veteran, over the past few years, just experiencing the playoffs here, even regular season, it's been the same thing."

With the goal of the home crowd being to throw off the road team and Irving being a natural target, he expects them to lean more into that in Game 2, but did admit he thought they'd be louder in Game 1.

"I thought it was going to be a little louder in here but I'm expecting the same things going into Game 2," Irving said. "Crowd trying to get me out of my element, my teammates out of my element."

Regarding his performance, Irving shot 6 of 19 from the floor and missed each of his five 3-point attempts, but he felt he got quality attempts that just didn't fall. "But again, the energy has to be focused towards the game. I felt like I had a lot of great looks," he said. "They hit back rim or were just a little left or right."

"Just got to stay confident and stay poised throughout this, man. This is the best time of the year to be playing. There's only two teams left. Let's put it in perspective. The environment is going to be what it is but my focus is on our game plan and making sure my guys feel confident and I feel confident and continue to shoot great shots."

The Mavericks' offense struggled as a collective, finishing with only 89 points and recording nine assists on the night. Irving gave the Celtics' tough on-ball defenders credit for holding their own and allowing Boston to stay home on shooters. He understands he needs to be better making decisions on the catch and controlling the situation in Game 2.

"I think that they really rely on their great defensive ball pressure and one-on-one defenders," Irving said. "They funnel us into certain areas. Even as I say that, they are relying on the one-on-one, every time I got an iso, there's almost two, three people waiting for me to get in there. I have to catch the ball on a live dribble and just be aware of my opportunities.

"It's uncharacteristic for us to have only nine assists. The ball has got to move a little bit more," Irving explained. "And again, that starts with me just being able to push the pace, get us some easy opportunities, and just adjust to what they are throwing at us.

Irving is looking forward to the game-by-game chess match, which will be required of them to bounce back after losing the series opener. Dallas rallied back down from 29 points to trail by eight in the third quarter, but could not continue that momentum, resulting in another 20-point deficit by the end of the period. That positive stretch will be an example used as a re

"It's a fun series. It was fun going into the game. It's still going to be fun," Irving said. "But there's going to be a level of chess that still has to be played. And Game 1 was just about adjustments.

"We obviously wanted to win this basketball game," Irving explained. "Gave ourselves a chance in the second half when we were down by eight, and they brought it up to 16 and they got it up to 22 and we called a timeout. So just going to be replaying some of these possessions. But at the same time, looking at some of the positives that we can carry on to Game 2."

Stick with MavericksGameday for more coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the NBA Finals.

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