BOSTON — On the long walk down the hallway from the visitors' locker room to his postgame news conference Thursday night, Kyrie Irving carried a basketball, dribbling occasionally. When someone offered to hold it as he took the podium, the Dallas Mavericks guard said, "l need it. I didn't shoot particularly well tonight."
In his homecoming to Boston, where he spent two distressed seasons, Irving logged 12 points on 19 shots and two assists against three turnovers in a 107-89 loss in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Met with boos and chants of "Kyrie sucks!