While the Mavericks lost 100–120, Mainers surely came away with their head held high.
BOSTON — Amongst the sea of green and white at TD Garden Friday, there were sizeable pockets of blue jerseys with 32 emblazoned across the front and back.
From Houlton to Calais to Eliot, Mainers came out Boston in droves to root for one of their own: the basketball phenom and Newport native Cooper Flagg. For months, Flagg’s Maine brethren counted down the days to his TD Garden debut in his second Mavericks vs. Celtics match.
Flagg’s Dallas Mavericks lost 120–100 to the Boston Celtics, but the 19-year-old was the first to get his team on the board with an early two-pointer.
The night before, Flagg logged another record in his nascent NBA career, becoming the second youngest person to break the 1000-point barrier. While the Mavericks narrowly fell to the Orlando Magic 115–114, Flagg now sits right behind Lebron James, who the NBA says set the record at 19-years-and-41-days-old back in 2004. Flagg hit that mark just a month after at 19-years-and-74-days-old.
The excitement of his Thursday performance was palpable as Mainers lined up outside The Garden. Grade schooler Ezra Bush, attending with his father, has been watching Flagg’s career since he transferred to Montverde Academy.
Bush said Flagg inspires him every time he laces up his own court shoes. “Whenever I watch him, and then I step onto the court, I am like, ‘I am going to be like Cooper today.’”
Despite allegiances to Flagg, many from the Pine Tree State said they were rooting for a Celtics win, including father and son duo Mason and David Laflamme from Lewiston.
“[I am a] Celtics fan all the way but definitely rooting for Cooper Flag,” David said. “We’re hoping, you know, Cooper’s going to throw 40, and the Celtics will win, so that’s always the goal.”
Flagg did not end with that many points, but he was the second-highest scorer from Texas with 16.
Flagg was not the only reason New Englanders were excited. Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum made his long-awaited return to the parquet floor after nearly a year’s hiatus due to a ruptured Achilles’ tendon.
Tatum, who had not played since last May, put up 15 points for the Celts in his season debut.
Excited for both Tatum and Flagg was Diana Devlin from Eliot who brought a poster more than half her height with both players pictured front and center. “It’s a big night, so I needed the poster.”
“Always a Cooper Flagg fan,” Devlin said, who was still rooting first for a Boston victory. Either way, she and many other Mainers went home proud.
Both teams are on the road for their next matchups on Sunday. The Celtics are heading to Cleveland to face the Cavaliers, and the Mavericks are heading to Toronto where they will play against the Raptors.
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