“Where’s the fire? Where’s the fire?” In TD Garden, it seems. An exciting game that was set to determine whether the New York Knicks would again steal home-court advantage from the Boston Celtics had a fiery conclusion. Not because the Knicks did end up being successful, but because there was an actual fire that seems to have erupted somewhere within the confines of the Boston stadium!

According to reports by SB Nation’s Noa Dalzell, a security guard reportedly alerted the people of a fire at an undisclosed part of TD Garden. Everyone, from players and reporters, has reportedly left the building. A scary turn of events has unfolded, as sirens are literally blaring at the stadium. John Karalis highlighted that 2 firetrucks had approached the area, and that he and the other reporters had to get out before they could get to Jayson Tatum.

An official statement from TD Garden was released soon after, which stated that the “Fire alarm went off tonight post game and arena was evacuated. No one was injured. The cause of the fire alarm is currently under investigation.” Zach Cox of the Boston Herald gave an update in the early part of the evacuation, revealing that the fire occurred in an elevator. However, from what the statement has revealed, the same is yet to be proven true.

Dalzell has theorized that the reporters might not hear from Jayson Tatum tonight due to the evacuation. A kind of blessing, since who would want to talk and give explanations after losing two consecutive home-court games? Especially when the Celtics are the defending champions. However, a few post-game pressers were still able to take place before the official evacuation began. Both Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson were in the middle of the Q&A session when the sirens first started blaring. Hart, with a sort of surprised expression on his face, even commented, “No one else worried about that?”

From the Celtics’ side, Jaylen Brown was still willing to take some questions. Noa Dalzell reported that both Brown and Joe Mazzulla were very calm at the podium postgame, considering the circumstances. Not just because of the literal fire, but also because of the ‘dumpster fire’ that has now been set with the Celtics holding a 0-2 record. Addressing the same, Brown admitted to the team’s faults, and added, “What’s done is done. Now we got an opportunity to see what we’re made of.”

Overall, it was a good thing that the situation was well taken care of, and that too promptly. Then again, the Celtics management would know what to do in situations like these. After all, it isn’t the first time, over the last few years, that such an evacuation took place in the famed Boston stadium.

An emergency alarm once brought the Celtics-Mavericks NBA Finals to a halt

Ironically, it was only a year ago when a similar incident had taken place in the same stadium. Back in June 2024, TD Garden was preparing to host the Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Celtics for Game 1 of the NBA Finals. However, just a day before the big game, an alarm went off in the arena. It caused the immediate evacuation of everyone present. This included everyone from the players to the press. As reported by Marca, the sudden incident created panic. People hurriedly exited the building, uncertain of the cause behind the alarm. Due to the evacuation, pre-game preparations were disrupted.

MARCA’s Nacho Garcia was reportedly at the scene on that day. From the visuals he captured, we could see the empty basketball court. The alarm was blaring and echoing throughout the empty seating area. It was almost a déjà vu, or whatever you call it when things repeat but in the past. After all, people crowded around the same area where they were after the recent Celtics-Knicks game. Fire trucks had also come outside. The only difference was that all of this was taking place in the daytime. Plus, the number of people in the arena was less on that day. Fortunately, nothing major had occurred, and the series commenced without an additional hitch.

TD Garden is well-equipped to handle any and all evacuation procedures. As reported by tdgardenvenue.com, there are clearly marked emergency exits throughout the venue, and strategically placed illuminated signage for easy navigation. On top of that, there are multiple evacuation routes to prevent bottlenecks, including designated assembly points outside the arena. Thanks to it, the recent evacuation didn’t turn out to be a bigger deal than it should have been. Nevertheless, reporters would have regretted coming all the way to the stadium only to miss out on a quote from Jayson Tatum. With any luck, he responds to their Game 2 queries after the Knicks-Celtics Game 3 matchup set to be held at Madison Square Garden.