Kyrie Irving highlighted that the heckling from fans, which began during the Dallas Mavericks’ loss in Game 1 against Oklahoma City, actually served to motivate the team.
“These fans don’t realize, their heckling just fuels us,” Irving commented. “We know the challenge in OKC after dropping the last game. They had the upper hand then, but we thrive on quieting the crowd through our physical play and scoring.”
Irving mentioned looking forward to returning the favor to the fans in the fourth quarter, turning the tables by heckling back.
A specific incident occurred during Game 1 involving Thunder fan Juan Guerra, who almost got ejected after receiving a warning from arena security following a tense exchange with Irving just minutes into the game.
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Reflecting on Game 2, Irving explained the situation involving Guerra, saying it began when a basketball went out of bounds and was caught by Guerra. “He deliberately threw the ball away from Luka [Doncic], not even making eye contact, which is disrespectful where I come from. Luka stayed calm, but I felt I needed to intervene as his teammate.”
Irving confronted the fan, criticizing his intention to stand out and possibly go viral. “It’s about the game, not about trying to get famous on social media,” Irving said.
Amid all the drama, alleged audio has leaked via social media account LegendZ:
Doncic also commented on the fan interactions, noting that while the heckling initially served as motivation, it went too far when his family was targeted. “I enjoy the challenge, but there’s a line. You can’t attack my family. That’s crossing it,” Doncic stated.
Ultimately, the Mavericks used the adversity as motivation, evening the series at 1-1 and reclaiming home-court advantage, underscoring that the heckling had, indeed, backfired on the fans.
