‘There’s only but so much you take’: Nets’ Kyrie Irving flips off heckling Celtics fans in loss

Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving flipped off several Celtics fans in Boston during Sunday’s playoff opener, and the NBA star warned that hecklers can expect more of the same throughout the first-round series.

Speaking after he yielded the deciding basket to the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum in Boston’s thrilling 115-114 Game 1 win, Irving described his hand gestures as part of a tit-for-tat exchange with rude fans.

‘Look, where I’m from, I’m used to all these antics and people being close nearby,’ the New Jersey native and former Celtics star said after pouring in a team-high 39 points in the Game 1 loss. ‘It’s nothing new when I come into this building what it’s going to be like — but it’s the same energy they have for me, I’m going to have the same energy for them.

‘And it’s not every fan, I don’t want to attack every fan, every Boston fan,’ Irving continued. ‘When people start yelling ‘p**** or ‘b****’ and ‘f*** you’ and all this stuff, there’s only but so much you take as a competitor. We’re the ones expected to be docile and be humble, take a humble approach, f*** that, it’s the playoffs. This is what it is.’

Before an inbounds pass, Kyrie Irving flashed both middle fingers to the crowd behind his head during the stoppage in play