The only thing quiet about TD Garden during the first game of the NBA Finals was Kyrie Irving’s game – and that stopped being a Celtics problem a long time ago.
The expected chants rained down on the former Boston point guard whenever he palmed the ball, but his shots from behind the arc…did not. Irving, visibly frustrated in his black Dallas Mavericks jersey, went 0-for-5 from the 3-point line. Across the court his former teammates, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, shot a respectable 38% from distance.
Afterwards, Irving maintained the happy countenance he’s shown throughout the Mavericks’ Cinderella playoff run. He walked into his postgame press conference with a basketball, and playfully tried to hand it to a female staffer, saying, “I could use an assist, I didn’t shoot too well tonight.”
“Being in this environment, I’m used to it at this point. Earlier in my career, there was a different relationship that I had with Boston,” he said, and added, “I thought it was going to be a little louder in here, but I’m expecting the same things in Game 2. The crowd trying to get me off my element.”
The biggest difference-makers of the night had their own history. Kristaps Porzingis scorched his former team with 20 points, leading Boston’s offense into the start of the fourth quarter. Luka Doncic got Dallas within single digits of Boston in the third quarter, but in the final minute of the quarter, Brown swatted away an Irving attempt at the rim and stomped towards the crowd like a bull seeing red.
Irving signaled his displeasure with the refs, who made him a perfect stranger to the free-throw line all night. On the next possession, Brown sank a 3-pointer to push Boston’s lead back to 22.
Defensively, the Celtics had an answer for nearly every switch Irving hunted out. Late in the first half he found himself in the short corner against one of the Celtics’ weaker defenders, sharpshooter Sam Hauser. His shot landed closer to the clock than the rim. It was par for the course. He finished the night with a ghastly stat line: 12 points and more turnovers (3) than assists (2).
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd had no issue with the shot selection from Irving, or the rest of the offense.
“Tonight they just didn’t go down for Ky, or most of the team. Hopefully we got those looks again in Game 2,” he said postgame.
Celtics fans were not kind to the point guard who dumped them nearly five years ago. A chorus of “Kyrie sucks” poured down from various sections in the stands like a deranged kind of wave. Irving spoke earlier in the week about blocking out the noise – figuratively as well as literally – but his teammates offered their own advice as the game wore on.
Maverick forward P.J. Washington said his message to Irving throughout the loss was simple: “Keep going.”
“He’s a special player, he’s a special guy,” he said postgame, and added, “We’re not really worried about the crowd.”