Donnie Wahlberg shares great story of watching C’s-Heat Game 6 while performing originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Donnie Wahlberg is a Boston Celtics superfan. If there’s a big game at TD Garden, there’s a good chance the New Kids On The Block frontman will be in attendance.
But during Saturday’s Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals in Miami, Wahlberg watched from afar. He performed in Chicago as the C’s battled to keep their season alive, and his fans made sure to keep him updated on the action.
Many Boston athletes, celebrities attend C’s-Heat Game 7 at TD Garden
Wahlberg, in the building for Game 7, told the story of the memorable concert Celtics Pregame Live.
“We watched about three quarters and we had to go on stage,” Wahlberg recalled. “There’s like, thousands of fans waiting and we’re like, ‘We gotta go.’ So one of the guys snuck a phone, and we’re thinking we’re not gonna find out until the end of the concert. Thousands of the fans had their phones up showing us the game.”
The end of Game 6 caused some confusion as Derrick White’s buzzer-beater putback went under review. But once the final score was official, Wahlberg and the fans at the New Kids concert were elated.
“We didn’t know what happened. All of a sudden, no one was giving us an update and we would look to one side of the room and all the cell phones said 103-102 final, Miami won. And we’re like , ‘Oh no.’ Then I looked over there and all the phones said 104-103, Boston won,” Wahlberg said.
“Brian Babineau, the Celtics’ photographer, travels with us when he’s not with the team. So he was there shooting the event. He was right by the stage and I said, ‘He’s gotta know.’ … We announced it to the crowd — and we’re in Chicago, they’re just New Kids fans but because they’re our fans, they love the Celtics. So it was mania, it was so incredible. But I knew we were gonna be here. You can never really predict, but I still believed after Game 3 we would be here for Game 7.”
Now, Wahlberg will hope to witness the C’s becoming the first team in NBA history to come back from down 0-3 in a playoff series. They would join a very short list of professional sports teams that have accomplished that feat. If they pull it off, they will take on the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 NBA Finals.