Nets coach Steve Nash was asked by a reporter Wednesday if he would prefer that Kyrie Irving would not react to comments from fans in the wake of him receiving a $50,000 fine for flipping off and cursing at fans in Game 1 against the Celtics.
Nash paused for a second, thought about how he should respond, and just said, “I don’t care.” After the reporters started to laugh, Nash asked them how many points Irving had in Game 1 and they responded with “39.” Nash’s face said it all and he just shrugged.
“I’ll keep it at that,” he said.
Brooklyn lost Game 1 of its first-round series against Boston Sunday 115–114 after Jayson Tatum hit a buzzer-beating layup, but it still wasn’t even the biggest story from the game.
At halftime, Irving was caught on video telling a fan, “suck my d--- b----.” And in the second half, there were multiple instances where Irving could be seen flipping his middle finger to Celtics fans. After the game, Irving addressed the interactions with fans and didn’t show any remorse over his actions. He played for the Celtics from 2017 to ’19 but joined the Nets in free agency in the summer of ’19.
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Despite all the distractions during the game, the star guard finished shooting 12-for-20 to end with 39 points and nailed six three-pointers as well. As long as Irving continues to light up TD Garden, Nash doesn’t seem to care what Irving says or gestures to fans.
Game 2 is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday and will be broadcasted on TNT.
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