Watch: Kyrie Irving warns Celtics faithful at TD Garden of returning for Game 5
Heading into the NBA Finals, Kyrie Irving was part of one of the main squads. Many were zeroing in on the All-Star guard to see how he'd perform against his former team. Following a loss in Game 2, a video surfaced of him sending a message to Boston Celtics fans.
On Sunday night, the Dallas Mavericks took the floor, looking to even things up against Boston. Luka Doncic kept things close with a triple-double, but it wasn't enough. In the end, the Celtics won 105-98 to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
As he was exiting the area, Kyrie Irving had a message for the Boston crowd. He stuck up his whole hand, letting them know that he'd be back for Game 5.
Irving has been a key contributor for the Mavericks all postseason but has struggled early on in this series. He was Dallas' third-leading scorer in Game 2, recording 16 points and six assists on 7-for-18 shooting.
If the Mavericks want any chance at playing Game 5 in Boston, they need to figure out a way to get their star guard going offensively.
Kyrie Irving speaks on Dallas Mavericks coming back from 2-0 deficit
Now down 2-0, Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks have a deep hole they need to dig themselves out of. After their Game 2 loss on Sunday, the former No. 1 pick touched on what the road ahead will be like.
While most of the Mavericks’ roster is young, Irving has an extensive amount of playoffs and finals experience from his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
During his postgame press conference, he stated he plans to rely on his previous finals runs now. Irving acknowledged that it’s going to be a piece-by-piece process for Dallas as they look to even things up with the Boston Celtics.
“They want to take care of home court, and now it’s our job to go home and do the same,” Irving said. “Being in the finals before down 0-2, I have a little experience in this.”
“So now I’m just really leaning in on what I’ve experienced, what I’ve learned, and some of the lessons I’ve been able to make sense of and how to come back in this series because it is going to be a possession-by-possession thing. It’s going to be the hardest thing we’ve ever done.”
As the Mavericks prepare to take this series home, Jason Kidd has a lot of homework to do. Before Game 3, he has to figure out a gameplan to unlock Kyrie Irving. It won’t be an easy task, as the Celtics have a pair of high-level defensive guards in Jrue Holiday and Derrick White.
Luka Doncic can only do so much on his own. If Irving isn’t able to turn things around, the Mavericks are going to have a tough time keeping up with Celtics’ offensive firepower.