Nets' Kyrie Irving on flipping off Boston crowd: 'There’s only so much you can take as a competitor'

Game 1 of the Nets and Boston Celtics first-round playoff series had it all. Incredible plays, stifling defense, a buzzer-beater, and a star flipping off the crowd.

Kyrie Irving gave the crowd at TD Garden the bird in the fourth quarter of Brooklyn’s 115-114 loss. The former Celtic was hearing it from the crowd all game. Whenever he would touch the ball, the thousands in attendance rained down boos.

"Kyrie sucks!" chants rang through the arena whenever Irving took to the free-throw line and, according to the 30-year-old, there was some unsavory language tossed his way.

"Where I’m from, I’m used to all these antics and people being close, nearby. It’s nothing new when I come to this building what it’s going to be like," Irving said after the game. "It's the same energy they have for me and I’m going to have the same energy for them … And I don’t want to attack every Boston fan, but when people start yelling p***y, bitch, and f**k you there’s only so much you can take as a competitor.

"We’re the ones expected to be docile and humble ... nah f**k that, it’s the playoffs. It is what it is. I know what to expect in here and it’s the same energy I’m giving back to them. I’m not really focused on it, it’s fun."

The New Jersey native continued to say that "all is fair in competition" but made it clear he doesn’t care if Boston fans won’t move on after he left the team for free agency back in 2019. He says he won’t focus on the past and is just looking forward to competing with his teammates.

Irving scored 39 points in the loss,. including 18 in the fourth quarter. The buildup of the crowd's heckling seemed like it fueled Irving in the fourth quarter. When asked about the "hostility" between him and the crowd, he refused to categorize the interaction as such.

But when it was rephrased to describe it as energy, Irving quickly answered "Embrace it. It’s the dark side, embrace it."

Irving must embrace it as the Nets have to play in the same arena Wednesday night for Game 2 as they look to tie the series.