It looks like it’s going to be a huge night at the TD Garden. The Boston Celtics — second in the Eastern Conference — are expecting star Jayson Tatum to return to the court after injuring his Achilles during last year’s playoffs.

Tatum is on the injury report, but he was upgraded Thursday from “out” to “questionable,” maybe our biggest signal yet that he’s coming back. We’ll know for sure before sometime the game tips off at 7 p.m.

And Maine native Cooper Flagg, who plays for the opposing Dallas Mavericks, is also expected to play in what will be his first game back home since being drafted No. 1 in the 2025 NBA Draft.

Maine native Cooper Flagg on playing at TD Garden in Boston for the first time:

“I’m excited. I know there’s going to be a lot of people showing up from Maine & showing support. I’m really excited just to be up there for the first time & play in that arena. It’s the only arena I… pic.twitter.com/lMG6hGvXqR

— Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2) March 6, 2026

Flagg scored 18 points in his return to the lineup from a foot injury on Thursday night, scoring his 1,000th career despite playing only limited minutes, making him the second-youngest player in league history to reach that milestone. And he is expected to play again on Friday.

ESPN’s Shams Charania first reported that Tatum is expected to make his season debut against the Mavericks on Friday night. He’s been described as “ready to go.”

His likely return comes 10 months — or 297 days — after he tore his Achilles in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals againts the New York Knicks. Since that time, the Celtics lost in the playoffs, bid farewell to some key players, rebuilt and brought in some fresh faces.

“He’s going to come back to a much better situation than he left, and that’s shocking that we’re saying that because we thought it was a disaster over the summer,” NBC Sports Boston’s Michael Holley said.

“I think Tatum knows coming back he’s stepping onto Jaylen Brown’s team. Brown is a top five, top six MVP candidate this year. He has put this team on his back offensively. Tatum is going to have to find a way to fit into that. I think there will be an adjustment, but I ultimately think he’s gonna be fine. He’s Jayson Tatum,” Sports Illustrated Senior Writer Chris Mannix said.

And Tatum will get a huge reception at Friday’s game. Tickets are still available, but they won’t come cheap.

Dallas comes into Friday’s game losers of five in a row. This is the second time the two teams are facing off this season. The Celtics won 110-100 in the last matchup on Feb. 4, with Brown leading Boston with 33 points and Flagg leading the Mavericks with 36.