The Brooklyn Nets dropped Game 1 to the Boston Celtics, but it wasn't because of Kyrie Irving. However, he did made headlines on Sunday because of reasons beyond his incredible play.

The seven-time All-Star product from Duke can be a bit provocative. He became one of the most controversial athletes in the NBA this season because of his decision not to get vaccinated. But once NYC made the key rule change to allow unvaccinated athletes to play, Irving was suddenly full-time just ahead of the Nets' stretch run. And he has a bit of a sordid history with Celtics fans.

After draining a huge three pointer, Irving was seen giving the finger to Boston fans. Kyrie finished with a monster 39 points, five rebounds and six dimes. After the game he spoke about the back and forth with Celtics supporters.

“Where I'm from, I'm used to all these antics, people being close nearby, it's nothing new when I come into this building, what it's gonna be like. But it's the same energy that they have for me, and I'm gonna have the same energy for them,” Irving said.

Kyrie was once a Celtic, and he emphasized at one point he wanted to stay a Celtic. But he left them to join Kevin Durant in Brooklyn back in 2019. It has been a rocky relationship ever since. He's booed mercilessly whenever he visits. He stomped on Lucky the leprechaun last season when these teams met in the playoffs and referred to fans who are mad at him as a scorned ex-girlfriend who still wants an explanation for why he abandoned them. It's pretty entertaining stuff. As we noted he is a provocative one, and while he won't admit it gets him going, it seems to only make him better when there's extra fuel.

Durant, on the other hand, really struggled in this game. KD was just 9-of-24 and credited the Celtics' world-class defense for making it hard on him to get good looks.

“It's not every fan I don't want to attack every Boston fan but when people start yelling ‘p—y' or ‘b–ch' and ‘f–k you'…there's only but so much you can take as a competitor. We're the ones expected to be docile and be humble, take a humble approach, nah f–k that, it's the playoffs,” Irving added.

The Nets are now in a big hole. It's only one game, but they'll have to win the next one if they want to steal home court. And then they'd need to win the two games after that if they want to keep it. So unless Brooklyn can win three straight, the Celtics will enjoy having this same hostile environment for deciding contests in the rest of this series.

“We're I'm from, I've dealt with so much, so coming in here, you relish it as a competitor,” Irving continued. “If somebody's gonna call me out on my man, I'm gonna look them straight in the eye and see if they're really about it. Most of the time they're not.”

There is still a chance that Ben Simmons could return this series. If he's able to, he could provide a boost. It was on the defensive end where the Nets really need another stopper. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum got too many good looks in the paint.

If the fans wanted to rattle Irving and make him play worse, if they thought calling him names would get in his head, it may have backfired. And they're fortunate that Durant was off in this one. Otherwise the outcome would have been a lot different.