Irving will make his first appearance at TD Garden in front of fans since the former Celtics guard left the organization amid controversy to play …
Irving will make his first appearance at TD Garden in front of fans since the former Celtics guard left the organization amid controversy to play for the Nets two seasons ago, and Irving said following Game 2 that he hopes there are no racially charged remarks from the crowd as he makes his highly anticipated return. “I am just looking forward to competing with my teammates and, hopefully, we can just keep it strictly basketball. There’s no belligerence or racism going on — subtle racism,” Irving said as the Nets took a 2-0 stranglehold on the first-round series Tuesday by pummeling the Celtics,130-108. “People yelling [expletive] 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.” Irving, who spent two seasons with the Celtics and played in an empty TD Garden back on Christmas during this regular season, was asked if he had experienced racism from a Boston crowd, and he said: “I’m not the only one who can attest to this.” “Yeah, I’ve heard a couple of them,” Smart said. “It’s kind of sad and sickening because, even though you’re facing an opposing team, we’ve had guys on your own team that you’re saying these racial slurs and you expect us to go out here and play for you.
