A reflective Irving knows the boos are coming in Boston

Kyrie Irving directed obscene gestures and profanity at a hostile crowd in Boston the last time the star guard saw the Celtics, one of his former teams, in the playoffs two years ago.

- SCHUYLER DIXON

"You have to learn how to put the big picture first," says Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving.

It was one tumultuous moment of many in a tension-filled tenure with the Brooklyn Nets that ended with his trade to the Dallas Mavericks about 10 months later.

Healthier and happier, as he likes to say, Irving is back on the biggest stage with the Mavericks set to face the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals starting Thursday night at TD Garden.

Throughout the deepest Dallas playoff run in 13 years, Irving’s reflective side has surfaced frequently, stopping short of mea culpas but making clear he’s learned a lot along the way.

“I will say last time in Boston, I don’t think that was the best — not this regular season, but when we played in the playoffs and everyone saw me flip off the birds and kind of lose my (stuff) a little bit,” Irving said. “That wasn’t a great reflection of who I am ... towards the next generation, on what it means to control your emotions in that type of environment, no matter what people are yelling at you.”