The Boston Celtics gave Mike Gorman the perfect send-off Wednesday night at TD Garden.
The Celtics dominated the Miami Heat from start to finish in Game 5 of their first-round playoff matchup, coasting to a 118-84 win that gave them a 4-1 series victory and punched their ticket to the second round.
Boston’s rout also meant that Wednesday officially was Gorman’s final Celtics broadcast for NBC Sports Boston; the legendary play-by-play announcer is retiring after 43 illustrious seasons on the mic, and C’s playoff games will be exclusively on national broadcasts going forward.
Gorman made sure he went out in style: After Tyler Herro was hit with a technical foul in the first quarter, the C’s broadcaster snuck in a great burn of the Miami guard.
“A technical foul called on Herro, who threw the ball at (Payton) Pritchard because Pritchard plays hard and he doesn’t,” he said.
The final minute of play was when things got emotional: TD Garden gave Gorman a rousing ovation during a timeout late in the fourth quarter.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla — a Rhode Island native who grew up watching Gorman call C’s games — went over to shake Gorman’s hand after the final buzzer sounded and thank him for his incredible career.
Gorman then delivered one final sign-off to tie a bow on his Hall of Fame career.
“I don’t know what to say, really,” Gorman said. “For the past 45 years, it’s been an honor and my distinct pleasure to have been the voice of the Boston Celtics.
“I’ll be forever to this ownership for treating my family as they treat their own, and special thanks to all welcomed Tommy (Heinsohn), Scal (Brian Scalabrine) and me into your homes all winter long. When it was a cold night outside, you turned us on, and it just couldn’t have been better. There’s no place I would rather have been.
“So Boston, thank you. Goodnight.”
Gorman has been the Celtics’ play-by-play announcer since November 1981. He currently holds the longest tenure as play-by-play voice for a Boston professional sports franchise and along with his former broadcast partner, the late Celtics legend Tommy Heinsohn, made up TV’s longest running telecast duo. Gorman was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.
While Wednesday was Gorman’s final day on the job, he’ll still be following the team closely as it advances to face the winner of the Cleveland Cavaliers-Orlando Magic first-round series. And as the Celtics continue their playoff journey, perhaps they’ll be motivated by the final message Gorman delivered in his last regular-season game on April 14:
“Go win this thing, will you please?”