December 6th is a very important day for Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart and he made sure that he played on that very special day. Last night could have the 65th birthday of Camellia Smart, who succumbed to cancer in September of last year.

Smart stressed the importance of playing against the Denver Nuggets last night to honor his late mother, per Nicole Yang of The Boston Globe.

Smart made a heartfelt post on Twitter last year after his mother passed away.

Smart had been questionable prior to tip-off after he sustained an oblique injury in their game against the New York Knicks last Sunday. This forced him to miss their previous showdown against the Miami Heat, where the Celtics won by 19 points. To add to his injury, the 25-year old also entered Friday night's game with an illness.

The decision to play through was worth it as the Celtics carved out an impressive lop-sided victory over the Nuggets. The defensive and gritty guard scored nine points on 4-of-5 shooting and added two rebounds and two assists in 28 minutes.

Boston notched its 16th win of the season and remained undefeated at home with a 9-0 slate at the TD Garden. They are now at solo second in the Eastern Conference standings behind the surging Milwaukee Bucks.

Smart has thrived through the first quarter of the season in an increased role with the Celtics. Through 20 games, the former no. 6 overall pick is averaging a career-best 11.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.3 assists in 31.8 minutes per contest.