Kyrie Irving put up quite the performance needed in Game 2 to help lift his squad over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. In 27 minutes, Irving scored 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field. That went along with six boards and six assists with a plus-minus of 19. For the media though, the highlight of his night were his comments on returning to TD Garden for Games 3 and 4:
“I am just looking forward to competing with my teammates and hopefully, we can just keep it strictly basketball… there’s no belligerence or racism going on, subtle racism. People yelling [expletive] from the crowd, but even if it is, it’s part of the nature of the game and we’re just going to focus on what we can control.”
In his short stint playing for the Celtics, the Nets guard knows what to expect when returning to play his former team at Boston. Regardless of how the outcome plays out, Irving has a task at hand and he’s focused on completing that task. His team is up 2-0 in the series and they’re on a quest to make it to the main stage.
Former Celtics star Kendrick Perkins responded to Irving’s comments, saying he personally had never experienced racism during his time in Boston. “It’s always extra with him,” Perkins said.
Kendrick Perkins responds to Kyrie Irving's strong comments about returning to TD Garden with fans for Game 3 pic.twitter.com/4TAfJeAB3i
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 26, 2021
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