Skip Robinson said it was like watching a Boston Celtics game from the mid-1980s.

His wife, Delores, is not a sports fan but enjoys a good in-person game experience. When he mentioned that Cooper Flagg and his Dallas Mavericks would be in Boston, she looked for a way to secure tickets to the game.

“She ran to the computer, whipped it open and started researching for tickets,” he said. “She reminded me of Larry Bird on a fast break, she was that quick. A half hour goes by, and all of a sudden she starts going ‘We’re going, we’re in!'”

The Robinsons, along with plenty of other Mainers, are indeed going to TD Garden on Friday to see Flagg, a Newport native, and the Mavericks play the Celtics.

It’ll be the Mavericks’ only trip to New England this season, and as a result, the demand for access to the game has skyrocketed. Ticket prices have soared; the cheapest balcony seats for Boston’s game against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday were $54 earlier that afternoon, according to StubHub, while a loge seat behind the basket went for $131.

Friday’s game? The cheapest ticket is $174. That same loge seat is going for $416.

“The tickets are expensive,” said Robinson, an 81-year-old Windham resident and personal trainer at Foley’s Fitness, while emphasizing the last word.

Robinson said he spent $4,000 total for two seats “right behind Donnie (Wahlberg).”

He has no regrets.

“It’s just one of those moments in sports,” he added. “Going to a Celtics basketball game is a happening in and of itself; you see all the banners and all of that. But then to have him playing, and being such a role model, it’s worth it.”

Flagg’s last Boston trip, to Boston College while with Duke in January 2025, drew scores of Mainers. This trip could be the same thing. It certainly will be for those from his hometown.

“All the kids and staff have been talking about when they’re leaving, where they’re staying and how close they got for seats,” said Whitney Guy, a Newport resident and physical education teacher at Nokomis Regional High School, where Flagg played as a freshman.

Guy will be going with her wife, with center court club seats at $650 apiece.

“It comes around once a year and we all get super pumped to go down and support him,” she said. “I’m sure that Friday, either all of those staff and kids are going to be (at school) or it’s going to be a ghost town.”

Julie Barker of Machias is embarking on the five-and-a-half hour drive to go with her husband, daughter and two of her grandsons, for whom the tickets were a Christmas present.

“They were so excited, they couldn’t believe it,” said Barker, who said the tickets were $200 apiece. “One of them opened it first, and they were just (saying) ‘Is this real?’ And we said ‘Yes, it’s real.'”

Seeing the news about Flagg’s injury was cause for concern.

“I haven’t talked to them about it at all. I haven’t dared to mention it,” she said. “I’m trying not to escalate it at all. … Knowing that he’s going to be there, even if he didn’t get to play, that would be exciting. It was a concern, but not enough to sell our tickets.”

Ben Schulz, the Cheverus High boys soccer coach, held off on buying tickets once he heard about Flagg’s injury.

“I definitely googled ‘Cooper Flagg injury update’ every day,” he said.

As the game drew nearer, he left it up to his daughter and niece to decide whether to chance it. While driving back from a soccer tournament Sunday, they gave him the green light. The three will be sitting in the upper deck, with $155 tickets purchased Tuesday.

Schulz noted that there could be an extra treat for fans if Boston’s Jayson Tatum is able to make his season debut after being out with a torn Achilles tendon.

“If we go from no Cooper Flagg to Cooper Flagg and Jayson Tatum, it’s worth the $155,” he said. “They decided no matter what, we want to get out of school early, take the train to Boston, go to a Celtics game and have dinner.”

Evan Graves, the athletic director at Caribou High, said he never hesitated to buy tickets for himself, his wife and his son and daughter when the schedule came out, even at the $385 price. He’s been “a little nervous” about Flagg’s availability, but understanding that he might not play.

“I think that’s the gamble you take buying tickets in August,” said Graves, whose family will drive around seven hours to the game. “We thought it would be a fun little getaway. The timing is perfect for us. … It just kind of worked out.”

If Flagg plays Friday, some fans will see him play live for the first time. Amy Obando, a medical assistant from South Berwick, was at a Christmas party with her boyfriend’s family when the conversation turned to Flagg’s rookie season, and one of her boyfriend’s uncles said he had tickets to the Newport native’s homecoming.

Hours later, another uncle called and told her he had bought tickets, and they were going as well.

“This is definitely going to be, I can feel, one of the most exciting (games) in terms of energy within the crowd,” she said. “I’m excited to see, not only him, but also if Jayson Tatum is able to come back. … Having all that coincide in one Friday night is a New Englander’s dream for NBA basketball.”

Others have seen him play before — many times, even. Dawson Townsend, a close friend and former classmate of Flagg’s at Nokomis, has been to six of his NBA games, and also saw him play during Flagg’s season at Duke.

Seeing him in Boston, however, and knowing how many supporters from his home state are in the stands, will be a whole new feeling.

“I feel like the atmosphere of the game is going to be really special, too,” said Townsend, now a student at Kennebec Valley Community College while running his DT Property Professionals landscaping business. “We all dreamed of playing at the Garden. … It’s a pretty surreal experience for a 19-year-old, for sure.”