BOSTON -- The cheer for Jayson Tatum was undoubtedly the loudest ovation during pregame introductions Friday at TD Garden. He was the last of the Boston Celtics introduced, and it was the cheer Celtics fans have been waiting for months to give.
That was to be expected because the Celtics megastar hadn't played since he suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the playoffs last May.
The second loudest cheer in the player intros? That went to the kid from Newport, Maine wearing the Mavericks uniform, the one who grew up wardrobed in Celtics green. This was Cooper Flagg's homecoming game, and the 207 came out for it.
"I've never heard a road player get a cheer like that," said Mavericks coach Jason Kidd. "Especially in Boston."
It was the perfect night for split allegiances. Cheer for Flagg, the rookie you've followed since he was winning a Gold Ball at Nokomis High four years ago, and cheer for the Celtics, the team both you and Flagg grew up with. Celebrate it all. Flagg heard it, and appreciated it. Sharing the court with Tatum, a player he grew up idolizing and followed at Duke, and now the NBA, was special, he said.
"I tried to take a moment and take a deep breath," Flagg said. "It's a dream come true being out there on that court."
Flagg's first game in Boston has been anticipated by fans from Kittery to Madawaska and everywhere in between since the NBA released the 2025-26 schedule. Christmas, birthday, graduation, these tickets were a popular gift.
Jake Foreman didn't leave anything to chance. On his head, a Boston Celtics baseball cap. Over his shirt, he wore a blue Dallas Mavericks road jersey, No. 32 of course, with the most popular name in Maine stitched across the back shoulders, FLAGG.
A Celtics fan who was raised in Fort Kent and now lives in Scarborough, Foreman knew Friday's game at TD Garden was a time to make a nod to both of his basketball loves.
"I've got to represent both," Foreman said.
Maine came out in droves for its favorite player. Take a lap around the main concourse 45 minutes before tip and you saw a lot of fans wearing a lot of Flagg jerseys, either Duke or Dallas. To the uninformed, it looked like a wave of Mavericks fans. That was incorrect. They were here for one guy. There was no sign of another Mavericks player in the sea of swag. No Dirk Nowitzki. Not a rogue Mark Aguirre. Not even a random Rolando Blackman.
This game was about two players, Flagg and Tatum. Two weeks ago, nobody was sure either of them would play in this game, said Westbrook's Reid Griffin, who attended the game with his 15-year old son Beckett and two friends. Tatum was rehabbing and Flagg had an injured foot. Now, fans got two bites of NBA history in one game.
"He represents us," Beckett said when asked why he was eager to see Flagg's homecoming game in person. "He's a role model for all of us."
Flagg returned to the court the night before, when the Mavericks played in Orlando. He scored 18 points after missing eight games. Everybody knew, if he was healthy enough to play in Orlando, he wasn't going to miss Boston.
Alissa Morin and her husband Caleb, of Winslow, bought tickets to Friday’s game last fall as a Christmas present for their 12-year old son, Vinnie. It was a chance to see Flagg, the player who has brought so much positive attention to Maine over the last few years. The return of Tatum was something they never considered.
Kristen Viger of Rumford got the tickets on Black Friday as a Christmas gift for her son Dalton, 9. Dalton made a sign for the occasion. It featured photos of himself at a Celtics basketball camp, and the camp Cooper and his twin brother Ace ran at the University of Maine. Dalton’s loyalty Friday night was split 50/50 between Flagg and the Celtics. He was eager to welcome back Tatum, and welcome home Flagg.
Tatum started slow, but ultimately delivered.
Tatum’s first points of the season didn’t come until there was just over a minute left in the first half, an emphatic dunk off an offensive rebound to give Boston a lead and set the crowd off. Less than 30 seconds later, a Tatum three brought more noise. He finished the game with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists.
Everything Flagg did drew cheers from the fans who headed north and home happy.
"It was incredible to get to play here," Flagg said. "I think it's going to be incredibly fun to come here and play in front of this crowd."
Next summer, keep an eye out for the NBA schedule release, and let's do this again.