BOSTON -- Marcus Smart's phone was buzzing as he looked down: "Mama." He had a good idea why she was calling.
It was late, but his 63-year-old mother, Camellia, has been staying up back in Texas to watch his game, even as she battles a recent cancer diagnosis.
"She calls me and she yells at me. She tells me to calm my 'so-and-so' down," Smart said.
Earlier that night, Smart had angrily stomped in the direction of Philadelphia 76ers rookie Ben Simmons after a flare-up between the two in the final moments of Boston's Game 1 triumph.