Celtics Fan Cole Buckley Arrested for Throwing Water Bottle at Kyrie Irving

Cole Buckley has been identified as the Boston Celtics fan who appeared to throw a water bottle toward Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving as he was walking toward the tunnel after his team's 141-126 victory Sunday.

The 21-year-old was subsequently arrested and will be subject to a lifetime ban from TD Garden:

"Fans got to grow at some point," Kevin Durant told reporters afterward. "... Grow the f--k up and enjoy the game. It's bigger than you."

James Harden added that banning fans who cross the line from arenas may not be enough of a deterrent:

The bottle toss comes after multiple instances of ugly fan behavior during the NBA playoffs.

A Philadelphia 76ers fan dumped popcorn on Washington Wizards star Russell Westbrook. A New York Knicks fan spat on Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young. The family of Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant was targeted by Utah Jazz fans.

Irving spent two seasons with the Celtics, and public opinion in Boston started turning against him toward the end of his second year there. His decision to sign with the Nets amplified those feelings.

As the Celtics and Nets' first-round series shifted to Boston, the seven-time All-Star addressed the kind of treatment he hoped to avoid.

"I am just looking forward to competing with my teammates and hopefully, we can just keep it strictly basketball; there's no belligerence or racism going on—subtle racism," he said. "People yelling s--t from the crowd, but even if it is, it's part of the nature of the game and we're just going to focus on what we can control."

Celtics general manager Danny Ainge responded and said he had "never heard any of that from any player in my 26 years in Boston" and "never heard that from Kyrie."

However, Celtics guard Marcus Smart alluded to "a couple of things" he had heard in the arena.

"It's hard to hear that and then have them support us as players," Smart said. "It's kind of sad and sickening."

He had also written an essay for The Players' Tribune detailing one Celtics fan calling him the N-word as he was driving away from TD Garden.