Kyrie Irving. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Celtics star Kyrie Irving had a tough night Tuesday in Milwaukee.
Bucks blew out the C's by 21, and Boston's best player had his worst shooting performance of the season. Irving missed 14 of 18 shots. He was often double-and-triple-teamed, and was just out of sorts all night.
But, you can be sure the All-Star isn't feeling extra pressure to step up when the conference semifinals shift back to Boston, all tied up for Game 3 tomorrow.
"There's no extra burden," he said. "This is what I signed up for, this is what Boston traded for me for. Being able to go back, get back in the trenches, get ready for another battle on Friday, this is what you live for. Basketball is fun when it comes like this, when you have to respond. This is the type of basketball you want to be playing at this time of year."
Irving's right about that. He's a champion with 58 career playoff games under his belt, but that was just the second time the guard didn't reach double-figures in scoring.
No matter what Irving says, he'll be motivated tomorrow. If the tied series or poor shooting night aren't catalysts, the home crowd and inevitable "MVP" chants after big plays will be.
WBZ NewsRadio's Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) reports