Kyrie Irving: Brooklyn Nets guard fined $50,000 for gesture and swearing at fans in defeat to Boston Celtics | NBA News

Kyrie Irving has been fined $50,000 by the NBA for making obscene gestures while on the court and directing profane language toward the stands.

The Brooklyn Nets guard showed his displeasure during his side’s 115-114 road loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday in Game 1 of the teams’ Eastern Conference first-round play-off series.

Irving flashed the middle finger at a group of fans at TD Garden on one occasion and unleashed a subtle double-finger salute behind his head on another. He also offered a profane response to another fan while heading into the locker room at half-time.

“The same energy they have for me, I’m gonna have the same energy for them,” Irving said after the match. “It’s not every fan.

“There’s only but so much you can take as a competitor.

“You know I know what to expect in here and it’s the same energy I’m giving back to them. It is what it is.

“I’m not really focused on it. It’s fun, you know what I’m saying? Where I’m from I’ve dealt with so much, so coming in here you relish it as a competitor.”

Irving played two seasons for the Celtics before joining Brooklyn prior to the 2019/20 season. On Sunday, he was jeered during pre-game introductions and was booed whenever he touched the ball.

The 30-year-old went on to rack up a game-high 39 points for the seventh-seeded Nets, three fewer than his post-season career-high he set against the Celtics in the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals.

The Nets will aim to even up the best-of-seven series on Tuesday when they play Game 2 in Boston.