Dereck Lively remains unimpressed by TD Garden’s crowd in NBA Finals, expects ‘loud’ atmosphere from Mavs fans in Dallas

Dereck Lively II was not a big fan of the Celtics' crowd at the TD Garden.

Dereck Lively remains unimpressed by TD Garden’s crowd in NBA Finals, expects ‘loud’ atmosphere from Mavs fans in Dallas

Dereck Lively II

In the first two games of the 2024 NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks, taking a 2-0 lead in the series thus far. Notably, the Mavs rookie Dereck Lively II was not a big fan of the TD Garden crowd as he asserted that the Celtics fans weren’t as loud as they seemed to be. Despite being 2-0 down in the series, Lively seemed confident for the upcoming matches in an interview ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

In a pre-match interview, Lively claimed that the TD Garden and the Celtics fans did not live up to the hype. He also asserted that his side, the Mavs home crowd will surely be louder for its players at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. In addition, Lively has had a poor start to this ongoing series against the Celtics.

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I honestly didn’t think it was that loud, There was a bunch of rumors about how Boston is going to be so loud, so nasty. I thought it was going to be worse. So just knowing that, it just makes you want to go out there and perform in front of your own crowd.
Dereck Lively said in the pre-match interview

With just 4 points in 2 games thus far in this series versus the Celtics, Dereck Lively has not performed adequately. Although the 7-foot-1 center’s ability to guard the rim is undoubtedly his greatest asset, the Celtics have thoroughly exploited the Mavs’ paint defense in this series until now. It remains to be seen how Lively and Co. perform at the American Airlines Center in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

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Kyrie Irving has similar opinions about the Celtics crowd and atmosphere at TD Garden

Following the Boston Celtics‘ victory in Game 1 of their matchup with the Dallas Mavericks, Kyrie Irving of the Mavs voiced his thoughts regarding the Celtics supporters. Irving had an off night in particular at the TD Garden but was left unimpressed at the Celtics fans’ atmosphere. He claimed it was not loud enough in the post-match press conference.

It’s basketball at the end of the day, being in this environment, I’m used to it at this point. Early in my career, it was a different relationship that I had with Boston … Just experiencing the playoffs here, even the regular season, it’s been the same thing. I thought it was going to be a little louder in here.
Kyrie Irving said in the post-match press conference
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On the sports side, Irving made just 6 of 19 shots in the game to end with just 12 points, missing all five of his 3-point attempts. Irving was met with resounding boos after each of his 13 misses and loud jeers each time he touched the ball. At the TD Garden, it was among his worst shooting nights of the playoffs.

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