Irving had to play with a protective mask after suffering “a minor facial fracture” in the team’s 90-87 win over the Hornets on Friday .
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This isn’t the first time Irving has worn a mask.
In 2012, during his second season in the NBA, then-20-year old Irving broke a bone in his jaw and had to wear a black plastic mask against the Knicks.
Surprisingly, having half of his face covered turned out well for him.
Irving put up a career-high 41 points and was appropriately dubbed “The Phantom of the Garden.”
Irving swapped the black plastic mask for a clear model for the next 18 games.
In his 19 games wearing a mask that season, Irving shot 47.5 percent from the floor (39.8 percent from 3-point range) and averaged 24.5 points per game, according to Boston.com .
#MaskedKyrie quickly began trending Tuesday night:
UPDATE: Irving was the hero the Celtics needed Tuesday. He scored a game-high 25 points and added five assists in Boston’s 109-103 victory, the team’s 13th in a row. Afterward, he had a funny explanation as to why he didn’t go back to the black mask:
