Kyrie Irving ‘racism’ jab raises Boston reunion tension

Kyrie Irving’s return to Boston was always going to be hostile and heated. Now it’s almost guaranteed to be elevated to pure hatred after the Nets star essentially called out Celtic fans’ behavior during his stint there, and hoped they’d refrain from any “racism” and “belligerence” for Friday and Sunday’s games at TD Garden.

“It’s not my first time being an opponent in Boston. So, I’m just looking forward to competing with my teammates,” Irving said on a Zoom press conference after Tuesday’s Game 2 win. “And hopefully, we can just keep it strictly basketball, there’s no belligerence or racism going on — subtle racism — people yelling s–t from the crowd. “But even if it is, it’s part of the nature of the game and we’re just going to focus on what we can control.”