DALLAS — Kyrie Irving facing his former team was one of the chief storylines heading into the NBA Finals.

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So far, the Celtics all but checkmated Irving, burying his Mavericks in a 3-0 series hole, limiting his impact on offense and hunting him on defense. Irving credited Boston’s ability to contain him Thursday during a post-practice press conference, and admitted beating the Celtics has been on his mind for a while. Irving is 0-11 versus Boston since facing them in the first round of the 2021 NBA playoffs.

“These guys on that Boston squad know my game. They know it well. So they’ve been able to scheme for me for the past few years. So getting over this hump is something that’s been on my mind for a while,” he said. “Watching them, just like everyone has been, watching Boston the whole entire year, be the best team in the league. We obviously knew we would have our challenges, but this is what helps us grow.

“Going out there and competing with the best of the best, competing with Jrue (Holiday) and Jaylen (Brown) and (Tatum) and seeing their ability to cover up some of their mistakes or trust each other to make the right plays on the defensive end has shown me what I have to continue to work on and also learn to how to think the game in a better way.”

Friday’s Game 4 is set to tip-off at 8:37 p.m. ET in Dallas.