Kyrie Irving and Dennis Smith Jr. got into a bit of a scrap during Wednesday’s game, but the former wasn’t sweating it too much afterwards.
Smith came at Irving with some choice words after being fouled in the first quarter of his Dallas Mavericks’ eventual 97-90 loss to Irving’s Boston Celtics.
Sign us up for Kyrie Irving vs Dennis Smith Jr pic.twitter.com/rs4qtyMNaf
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) December 7, 2017
Speaking with reporters postgame, Irving downplayed the spat and said that he was actually a fan of Smith’s game, per Jay King of MassLive.com.
Kyrie on mixup with Dennis Smith: "People bumping, trying to prove something, that’s always fun. It stays within the game. So you understand that. It’s a competitive streak. And then from that point it becomes who’s going to continue to stay within the game plan."
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) December 7, 2017
More Kyrie on Smith: "I’m just an avid YouTube watcher, an avid studier of people’s games. So I’ve been watching him since he was in high school when he was doing windmills on his AAU team in North Carolina…. And to play against him now as a 25-year-old … is awesome. “
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) December 7, 2017
On top of the win, it also helps that Irving (23 points, five assists, 10-of-18 shooting) got the best of his one-on-one matchup with the rookie Smith (12 points, one assist, 4-of-16 shooting). At least Uncle Drew handled this one better than the last time that somebody tried to get under his skin.
