3 Studs, 2 duds from Mavericks' dreadful Game 2 loss to Celtics

2. Dud - Kyrie Irving

In Game 1, Dallas Mavericks superstar Kyrie Irving was absolutely rattled by the Boston Celtics crowd. Despite Irving saying he thought the Boston crowd was going to be louder, he was clearly bothered by it. The fact that he talked about it shows that he was thinking about it going into the game, and it seems this continued into Game 2.

Irving started strong in the first quarter as he finished with eight points on 4-5 shooting, and with Luka Doncic on the bench, he was able to keep the Mavs offense rolling with some crazy finishes through swarming defense.

Irving was not letting the crowd get to him early in this game, and he was fueled by trying to prove that. The loud boos continued for Irving every time he touched the ball, but it didn't affect him early.

Things later changed for Irving, and he began talking trash with some fans and waving the "Kyrie sucks" chants to be louder.

Irving set the tone early in this game, but he couldn't keep it up as the game progressed. He was making shots that he usually hits, and was settling for tons of tough jumpers.

The Celtics fans' hate for Irving will likely continue until he retires, and it's important that he finds a way to block them out for the remainder of the series. It doesn't seem likely after watching Games 1 and 2, but this is a change he has to make.