ICYMI: NBC Sports Boston hilariously writes "0 middle fingers" as Kyrie Irving's statline to mock him for his Game 1 antics as Nets go 0-2 down vs Celtics
With the Boston Celtics emerging as winners against the Brooklyn Nets in Game 2, Kyrie Irving was made the target of mockery as NBC Sports Boston returned with their hilarious graphics during the postgame conference.
The highly competitive series saw Kyrie Irving on the receiving end of a lot of hostility and animosity from the home crowd at TD Garden.
Given his strained relationship with the franchise, Irving himself has retaliated to trash-talk with obscenities of his own in Game 1 - an action that incurred a heavy fine as well.
However, the Brooklyn Nets superstar did a good job of refraining from indulging in the same behavior in Game 2 of the contest. Unfortunately, the city of Boston isn't known for being kind in these situations.
Almost like rubbing salt in an open wound, NBC Sports Boston were back in action with their hilarious graphics representing vague and esoteric statlines to mock the players in question.
This is an actual television chyron that ran tonight in Boston after former Lakers guard Dennis Schroder had 21 pts, 6 reb and 6 ast and was a +12 in a win while Russell Westbrook had 12 pts, 6 ast, 4 reb and was -12 in a loss https://t.co/4lIzF3J972
Considering Kyrie Irving's poor performance in Game 2, it wouldn't be out of the question to assume that some degree of pressure from the crowd is affecting his play. But with Kevin Durant also playing out of sorts, the Nets are in a precarious position to say the least.
What went wrong for Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets in Game 2?
After one of his best playoff games in Game 1, Kyrie Irving looked like a shadow of that player in Game 2. Recording only 10 points in 40 minutes of playing time, Irving shot a horrendous 4-13 from the field and 0-1 from the three-point line.
With one of the worst off-nights of his playoff career coming at a crucial juncture in the series, the Brooklyn Nets find themselves 0-2 against the Boston Celtics as they head home for the next two games.
HIGHLIGHTS: The Celtics stormed back from a 17-point deficit to take a 2-0 lead on the Brooklyn Nets https://t.co/yPKZIRFkMp
But what exactly went wrong for Kyrie in this game? While it is simple to brush it off as an off-night, there were obvious layers to it.
The Nets looked solid early in the game. With their shots falling from everywhere on the floor, Brooklyn looked dominant as they secured a 65-55 lead at halftime.
At this point, Kyrie Irving wasn't looking too bad. The Celtics did a good job of cornering him and trapping him with double-teams, but Irving was still making shots. While the unforgiving Boston crowd let the guard hear them every time he touched the ball, the 30-year old handled himself well.
But the second-half saw a major shift in momentum. While Brooklyn still looked decent in the third-quarter, their fourth-quarter performance was dismal.
Scoring only 17 points, the Nets superstar duo shot 1-9 in the fourth to finish off the game as Boston's league-best defense was put on full display.
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving shoot a combined 26% from the field tonight. https://t.co/D8pV5eKh4X
With Durant and Irving combining for a horror shooting night, the rest of the team could only do so much to make up for it. With a difficult situation handed to them, the Brooklyn Nets will need their superstars to find a rhythm to defend their home court.