Irving reacts to Celtics fans booing him, chanting 'Kyrie sucks' / News - Basketnews.com

Kyrie Irving says Boston Celtics fans have their right to boo him, while Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum advocate for universal fan passion.

Credit: AP - Scanpix Credit AP - Scanpix

On Friday night, the Dallas Mavericks faced a tough 138-110 blowout against the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden.

Player of the Game EFF 28 Jayson Tatum Points 32 Accuracy 10-19 Rebounds 8 Assists 3

The atmosphere was charged with now-usual animosity towards star point guard Kyrie Irving, evident in a loud "Kyrie sucks!" chant from the crowd during the fourth quarter.

Post-game, Irving responded calmly to the crowd's reaction, acknowledging their freedom to boo.

"They have a right to boo," Irving said after the loss. "From my career record against them in the last few games, I haven't won. So, until I beat them, they have all the right to continue to boo. I think that's what makes the theatrics of sports and competitive sports fun. Just gotta embrace it. It's part of it."

He also took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to address this game.

"Thank you for everything, GOD," Irving said in his post. "I gotta stay poised and accept all the tests on this journey. The wins, the losses, and the emotional moments, are lessons to grow from. No matter what, I gotta keep persevering through the hate, the next generation is watching close."

In 37 minutes of action, Irving finished with 19 points on 9-23 shooting from the field, along with four rebounds and two assists.

Celtics stars, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, also addressed the booing, with Brown suggesting a universal approach.

"Fans, you know, they do what they do. Whatever reason for that, I think we should boo every star player that comes into our arena. I would like to see that," Brown stressed in a post-game conference. "Maybe it has an effect, maybe it doesn't. When [Nikola] Jokic and all these other players come in here, boo them too."

"It just kind of been like that ever since he left," Tatum added. "Obviously, we all now what happened but that was a while ago, a couple of years, right? I have a great relationship with Kai, a few os us were still here that played with him, have a great relationship with him. We've all moved on from it, but you understand that fans are passionate and things like that. I guess that's to be expected, but none of the players have any animosity towards Kai or anything like that."

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