Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Police Commissioner Michael Cox discussed plans Friday for dealing with potential crowds from Game 4 of the Celtics-Mavericks series and any celebrations that might occur if Boston clinches their first NBA championship since 2008.
The Celtics lead the series 3-0 heading into Game 4 on Friday at 8:30 p.m. in Dallas.
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"As the team's been saying, as long as it takes, but they have looked so good and there's such an undeniable depth of talent," Wu said. "We are keeping our fingers crossed tonight."
"It seemed to have worked for Game 3 to have the home team energy bundled in at TD Garden. That's going to happen again tonight with the watch party."
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Celtics Game 4 watch party
For the second straight game, a watch party is being held at TD Garden, where fans were able to purchase tickets for $18.
Wu, wearing a black-and-green outfit and a Celtics pin Friday, said she attended the Game 3 watch party, but isn't sure she'll be there on Friday night.
"The kids were quite tired, even by halftime," Wu said. "It was an incredible experience. There were families, it was a packed house."
"I think it was a combination of people being able to cheer on the team together, plus having a really reasonable ticket price at $18 a ticket," she added. "It opened up access. It really felt like being at a home game except the players weren't there. In some ways it felt like everyone was more into it because you could also watch all the replays together, and boo at the right time and cheer at the right time."
Celtics parade preparation?
Asked when the city might hold a parade if the Celtics win the series on Friday night, Wu said it's too soon to discuss that.
"OK, we don't use the 'P-word' ahead of time in Boston," the mayor said. "But should there be something huge to celebrate, we will be prepared and have announcements in the days ahead, just to make sure we are carefully planning for and mapping out all the logistics."
Road closures planned near TD Garden
Friday night is expected to be a busy night in Boston, Wu said.
"There's a lot happening in the city today, with a Red Sox game this evening as well," she said. "I'm so grateful to our first responders. They're ready with the safety plan. Commissioner Cox and the Police Department will be out in full force making sure everybody is safe and taking care of any measures needed for crowd control."
Some roads in the area of TD Garden will be shut down at halftime of Friday's Celtics game, she said, "to make sure everybody can have a safe time."
Causeway Street from North Washington to Merrimac Street and all feeder streets of Causeway to New Chardon Street will be shut down to vehicles and pedestrians. There will also be no re-entry to any restaurants, bars or other establishments in that area after that time.
Traffic Advisory: Causeway Street from N. Washington to Merrimac St., and all feeder streets off Causeway to New Chardon St. will be shut down to vehicles and pedestrian at halftime of the Celtics game. There will also be no re-entry to any establishments w/ in that area.
— Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice) June 14, 2024
Cox said Boston's entire police force will be working Friday due to how much there is going on in the city.
"We want our Celtics to win," he said, "but we also want to remind folks if we celebrate, celebrate responsibly if we happen to win today."
