NBA finals: Kyrie Irving admits he must face ‘self-doubt’ in Boston to beat Celtics

• Mavericks must win in Boston to keep series alive
• Dallas guard has struggled against former team

If any player knows how badly the Boston Celtics want to close out the Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA finals on Monday night, it's Kyrie Irving.

The Dallas point guard spent two seasons with Boston, but he has been a villain in the eyes of Celtics fans since leaving to sign with the Brooklyn Nets in the summer of 2019. Chants attacking Irving frequently echoed throughout TD Garden in Games 1 and 2 of these finals - a pair of Mavericks losses in which Irving struggled badly - before Boston hit the road and came out of Dallas with a 3-1 lead in the series.