Boston Celtics fans expressed their disdain for the Washington Wizards' Kelly Oubre Jr. on Wednesday night, and the vulgarity of one of their chants surprised John Wall.
Oubre returned to action in Game 5 after serving a suspension in Game 4 for charging at the Celtics' Kelly Olynyk and knocking him to the ground by burying his forearm in the big man's chest in Game 3. Fans at TD Garden began the game chanting, "We want Oubre!" but that later changed to "F--- you, Oubre!" The chant was so loud it could be heard on the TNT broadcast.
"We told [Oubre] what to expect from the crowd. We didn't think it would be those type of words," Wall told reporters. "But all you can do is go out there and play basketball. We're his brothers. We stick behind him."
Oubre said after the Wizards' 123-101 loss, which gave the Celtics a 3-2 series lead, that the chants made an impression.
"Um, I still hear my name ringing in my head because that's all I heard when I was on the court, but I was just going out there to play," Oubre told reporters, according to The Washington Post.
Wizards coach Scott Brooks said he warned Oubre to wear earplugs for Game 5.
Washington fans booed Olynyk every time he touched the ball in Game 4, but the Wizards' Bradley Beal said he thought Celtics fans took it too far Wednesday night.
"It is what it is. They're trying to make it bigger than what it needs to be. We're playing basketball here," Beal said, according to MassLive.com. "They're going to protect Olynyk here. We're going to protect Oubre on our team. When he comes to D.C., Friday's going to be the same thing. We booed him. It's just part of the game. We don't pay attention to that."
Oubre, however, said the vulgar chant didn't catch him by surprise.
"I mean, that was definitely expected. I wasn't really surprised with anything that I heard," Oubre told reporters. "Just the amount of people yelling my name, just singling me out is crazy. But it's definitely a blessing to be in this position. Monday, I want to get back here -- we have to get back here -- so we have to take care of business at home and get back here so I can hear my name some more. That's the goal, and that's what we got to do."