The NBA has fined Nets star Kyrie Irving $50,000 for making “obscene gestures” and directing “profane” language toward Celtics fans, the league announced in a statement.
The incidents took place in the Nets’ 116-115 loss in Game 1 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series in Boston on Monday.
Irving scored 39 points, but the Nets were edged after Celtics star Jayson Tatum hit a bucket with time running out. Irving was caught on video giving Celtics fans the middle finger on two separate occasions.
Prior to coming to Brooklyn in free agency, Irving spent two seasons playing for Boston. He said he was merely returning the “energy” delivered to him by Celtics fans during the game.
“Look, where I’m from, I’m used to all these antics and people being close nearby,” Irving said. “It’s nothing new when I come into this building what it’s going to be like — but it’s the same energy they have for me, I’m going to have the same energy for them.
“And it’s not every fan, I don’t want to attack every fan, every Boston fan. When people start yelling ‘p—y’ or ‘b—-‘ and ‘f— you’ and all this stuff, there’s only but so much you take as a competitor. We’re the ones expected to be docile and be humble, take a humble approach. F— that, it’s the playoffs. This is what it is.”
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