Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving (11) shoots over Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) during the second half of Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series last weekend. (AP photo)

The Brooklyn Nets will take a 2-0 series lead into TD Garden tonight for Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first round series with the Boston Celtics.

And of course, the focus will be on former Celtic Kyrie Irving — and a lot of that is Irving’s own doing.

Game 3 will be Irving’s first time playing in front of fans in Boston since leaving as a free agent in 2019 following two seasons. Asked after Game 2 what he expected, he noted that it’s not his first time playing in Boston as an opponent.

“So I’m just looking forward to competing with my teammates and hopefully we can just keep it strictly basketball, there’s no belligerence or any racism going on, subtle racism and people yelling (stuff) from the crowd,” Irving said. “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.”

Asked if he had experienced that before, Irving said: “I’m not the only one that could attest to this, but it is what it is.”

As for the basketball, the Nets will attempt to build on their first 2-0 lead in a series since they swept the New York Knicks in the first round in 2004.

This one might be headed toward the same result, with the Celtics unable to do much scoring in Game 1 or stop the Nets from doing tons of it in Game 2 in a 130-108 win.

“We’ve got to be way better,” coach Brad Stevens said, listing a number of defensive problems the Celtics have to address.

“They exposed that because they were really good, but I was disappointed in how we played versus the other night (in Game 1).”

TOP PERFORMERS: Kemba Walker is third on the Celtics scoring 19.3 points per game, and is averaging 4.0 rebounds and 4.9 assists. Evan Fournier is averaging 16.5 points and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 48.6% over the last 10 games for Boston.

Harden leads the Nets with 8.5 rebounds and averages 24.6 points. Durant is averaging 25.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.6 blocks over the last 10 games for Brooklyn.

LAST 10 GAMES: Celtics: 2-8, averaging 110.6 points, 42.2 rebounds, 23.8 assists, 6.8 steals and 6.7 blocks per game while shooting 45.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.5 points on 47.4% shooting.

Nets: 7-3, averaging 117.1 points, 45.7 rebounds, 25.9 assists, 6.5 steals and 6.4 blocks per game while shooting 50.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 109.7 points on 42.6% shooting.

INJURIES: Celtics: Jaylen Brown: out for season (wrist), Jayson Tatum: day to day (eye).

Nets: Spencer Dinwiddie: out for season (acl), Jeff Green: day to day (foot).