Getty Brooklyn's Kevin Durant high-fives Kyrie Irving during the first half against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Barclays Center on May 16, 2021 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
When the Brooklyn Nets first round matchup with the Boston Celtics shifted from Barclays Center to TD Garden for Games 3 and 4, all the hype was about Kyrie Irving’s return to Boston. The harsh crowd initially seemed to hurt Irving’s game as he had one of his worst performances of the season in Game 3. He finished with 16 points and shot just 6-17 from the field. Irving however had a big response in Game 4, as he dropped 39 points and helped lead the Nets to a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Celtics. However, the win did not come without controversy.
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Kevin Durant and Big Baby Have Heated Social Media Exchange
After the blowout win, a Celtics fan threw a water bottle at Irving after he appeared to stomp on the Celtics logo at half court. Irving’s actions particularly displeased former Celtic Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis.
“Real b*******. Like I said you step on Lucky, you step on everybody who played for that team,” Davis said on Instagram on Monday per ClutchPoints. “Keep the s*** basketball before somebody gets hurt in real life.”
After catching wind of Davis’ comments towards Kyrie, his All-Star teammate Kevin Durant had a strong response for the former Celtic. “N**** please,” Durant wrote on Instagram.
Kevin Durant and Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis were going at it on IG after Kevin Garnett’s comments about Kyrie Irving stepping on the Celtics logo. 🤣
Kyrie appeared to step on the Boston logo as he greeted his teammates at half court postgame.
(via @yornoc74)
Water bottle nearly hits Kyrie Irving as he walks to the locker room following Game 4 in Boston.
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Kevin Garnett Sends Message to Kyrie Irving
Davis was not the only ex-Celtic to take exception to Irving’s actions, Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett also responded to his decision to stomp on ‘Lucky’ the Celtics’ logo in a recent Instagram post. Garnett seems to defend the actions of the fan who threw a water bottle at Irving.
“So, nobody gonna say anything about Kyrie stomping Lucky? We just gonna act like we didn’t see that the F*** going on?” Garnett wrote on Instagram per Jay King of The Athletic. “You can’t just do that, that’s not coo on no level. All of us need to be better for real for real, I’m just saying.”
Kevin Garnett did not like Kyrie Irving stomping on the Celtics logo.
Kyrie Addresses Incident at TD Garden
It should be noted that the fan that threw a water bottle at the game was wearing Garnett’s Celtics jersey. The fan has been identified as 21-year-old Cole Buckley. Buckley was arrested and charged with assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon after throwing a water bottle at Irving’s head according to the Boston Police Department per ESPN’s Malika Andrews. He is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Boston Municipal Court.
After the incident, Irving’s addressed the situation with Buckley which speaks to a bigger issue surrounding live sporting events as a whole.
“You can see that people just feel very entitled out here,” Irving said after the incident per ESPN’s Malika Andrews. “They paid for their tickets — great, I’m grateful that they’re coming in to watch a great performance. But we’re not at the theater. We’re not throwing tomatoes and other random stuff at the people that are performing.”
Since fans have been allowed back in attendance at sporting events as the pandemic slows down, more light has been shed on some of their unruly behavior which has led several of the NBA’s stars to call out the league office for their neglectfulness in protecting the players.
“You’re seeing a lot of old ways come up,” Irving continued. “It has been that way in history in terms of entertainment, performers, and sports for a long period of time and just underlying racism and just treating people like they’re in a human zoo. Throwing stuff at people, saying things. There is a certain point where it gets to be too much.”
Kyrie Irving on getting a water bottle thrown at him after the game:
“People just feel very entitled out here… it’s a reflection on us as a whole when you have fans acting like that.”
Update: Cole Buckley, 21, was arrested and charged with assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon for throwing a water bottle at Kyrie Irving, according to Boston PD. Buckley will be arraigned Tuesday in Boston Municipal Court. t.co/9TU3E6tkyB
The Nets will be looking to close out their first-round series on Tuesday when they take on the Celtics in Game 5 back at Barclays Center.
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