It was one of the reasons Ronny Turiaf signed with Miami in March, the chance for his 81-year-old grandmother Annie to see him play an NBA game in person for the first time.
It merely took two surprises.
For the past month, the veteran frontcourt player has contributed mostly as a manic spectator, wildly cheering from the bench. After Chris Bosh's first-half abdominal injury Sunday, Turiaf was a second-half starter, dunking twice in nine minutes. So that was the second surprise.
"In a lot of ways, Turiaf's energy changed the game," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said.