Kyrie Irving finally breaks his silence on rumors his girlfriend cheated on him

Kyrie Irving finally broke his silence and set the record straight regarding the rumors that his girlfriend cheated on him.

In a series of tweets Wednesday night, which were later deleted, Irving said: "It's been hard to see what's been going on and not address the truth. I do not justify the picture or what dude did to try and spark all of this non sense that could have been avoided, but Me and Kehlani were not dating when the picture came out. It's unfortunate that it's received so much attention but its become bigger because of a post that was misunderstood. Nothing but love and compassion over this way for her and her family. My only focus the Game I love to play every night."

Irving had been dating 20-year-old singer Kehlani and sharing photos of them together as recently as early this month. So last week when rapper PartyNextDoor posted a photo that appeared to be him sharing a bed with Kehlani, social media exploded, accusing her of cheating on Irving.

After the backlash, Kehlani posted photos this week that appeared to be from a hospital, with PartyNextDoor at her bedside, and said she'd tried to end her life but credited the rapper for saving her.

She also denied that she had cheated on Irving by getting together with the rapper, whom she called her "first love."

"I am severely utterly in love with my first love. Went thru a bad breakup and ended up easing into a relationship with a man who was one of my bestfriend. Tho we realized we both weren't exactly at a time where we were prepared to do so. No I'm not a CHEATER, a THOT, im a BELIEVER IN FOLLOWING YOUR HEART and not LYING TO YOURSELF. ...

"Social media is the (expletive) devil. Go outside and play, you have your own lives to live that don't revolve around 'celebrities' or 'socialities' who are simply trying to live their own lives like you."

Kehlani then said goodbye to social media and deleted her Instagram photos. She later posted an update that she was back home and doing better. However, critics continued to lash out.

Irving maintained his silence while LeBron James reportedly counseled the young point guard to keep his focus on basketball and not get caught up in the media storm. However, Irving clearly is upset over the rumors and the toll they took on Kehlani — and, seemingly, in the role that PartyNextDoor played in the process.