Kyrie Irving swapped his role after the disappointing Game 1 loss. The Dallas Mavericks guard turned into a motivational thinker and gave an important message to his teammates, going forward in the series. The Mavs stood no chance against the Boston Celtics as they controlled the game right from the tip-off. On top of it, Uncle Drew‘s performance wasn’t up to the mark, as he dropped only  12 points with a 6-19 FG.

Following the game, Irving took to his X handle and wrote, “Tribe, Keep GOD 1st and stay together, this mission is bigger than us. Hélà.” Apart from his teammates, the post also seemed like it was addressed to the Dallas fans. On the other hand, it can also read as a trick from the 8x NBA All-Star was quick to cover up his underwhelming shooting night. Irving shared the post a few minutes after the final buzzer.

However, Kyrie Irving immediately squashed it as he took responsibility for the loss. Speaking at the post-game press conference. He added, “It’s a lot of emotions going into it. Just waiting for the opportunity to get out there and compete. We are going against the great Celtics. We just have to get this out of the way… I have to take some accountability… I think my teammates did a great job.”

The Boston Celtics turned Game 1 into a one-sided affair. Jayson Tatum & Co. did what they did best throughout the season, ending a quarter with a flurry. The team even created history by ending the first quarter with a record 17-point lead in the Finals Game 1. By the end of the first half, the score was 63-42, which later went to 86-66 by the end of Quarter 3. Dallas was always trailing behind with as many as 20 points for many moments. It was difficult for Kai & Co. to match up to the Celts’ pace.

Nevertheless, the Mavs almost chased down the lead in the third quarter by cutting the lead down to 8 points. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long, as the Celtics again ended the quarter in a flurry and took the lead back to 20 points. The visitors didn’t have any answers beyond that as they succumbed to an 89-107 loss. 

Will Kyrie Irving stick to his word in Game 2?

In the press conference, Irving assured to come back stronger after taking “lessons” from the Game 1 loss. Apart from his struggle to shoot the ball tonight, Uncle Drew had another important task to handle: the TD Garden crowd. The boisterous crowd was entirely behind Kyrie, booing whenever he had the ball in his hand.

It’s actually a Déjà vu moment for the star guard, which he faced during his time with the Brooklyn Nets. The Celts fans were sore that Irving left the Celtics team with just two seasons, and made him feel the heat whenever he entered the TD Garden. Tonight wasn’t any different. Before the game began, Boston fans were going around the streets displaying a blow-up doll with Kyrie’s jersey, chanting “F–k Kyrie“. Then, during the game, there were multiple instances of the crowd roaring the words “Kyrie sucks” to bring him and the Dallas side down.

Eventually, it affected the star’s game, as he could drop only 12 points and went 0-5 from the arc, leaving the Mavs to crumble with a blowout loss. Nevertheless, considering Kyrie’s cryptic post and message at the post-game press conference, the 32-year-old will definitely bounce back in Game 2 and take on the crowd again.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow in what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, had to say about the marketing genius, watch this video.