Rajon Rondo's Homecoming Eruption Bodes Well for Mavs and Other Friday Takeaways
Rajon Rondo went from a green jersey to some much greener grass when the Dallas Mavericks acquired him from the Boston Celtics earlier in December.
He seemed to be enjoying himself in his first return to Beantown on Friday night, leading head coach Rick Carlisle's 24-10 club to a one-sided 119-101 win over the point guard's old team by tallying 29 points, six rebounds and five assists in just 35 minutes.
It was easily the best performance of his seven-game stint with the club, a stretch that's so far included only one other effort topping 20 points and just one contest with double-figure assists. The numbers aren't yet especially gaudy, but the most recent performance is certainly a sign things are headed in the right direction.
And one can only imagine the extent to which the homecoming occasion brought out the best in the 28-year-old.
"Obviously, it was a special day," he told reporters after the game. "I'm emotionally tired. I'm physically tired, and I'm drained."
It's the kind of sentiment you'd expect from a veteran who'd spent over eight years with the Celtics—years that included a championship and four All-Star appearances. This was the only NBA city he'd known, an organization that brought him up and turned him into one of the purest point guards in recent memory.
Rondo explained as much on Twitter upon learning about the trade, via ESPN.com:
"My time in Boston has meant so much. I've grown up with this city both as a basketball player and person. The love I have for the most loyal and supportive fans in the league is unmatched. I look forward to building something special in Dallas.
"
Now averaging 15.4 points, 7.4 assists and 5.4 rebounds with the Mavericks, that "something special" may be slowly beginning to take shape. The team has won seven of its last nine contests and may now boast the best starting five in basketball.
It certainly looked that way against Boston, with four of those starters scoring in double figures.
"He obviously had his best game as a Maverick," Carlisle told reporters after Friday's contest. "It's extremely difficult to come back [to Boston] in this situation and play the way that he did. ... He showed a lot of class with the way he played."
As he's demonstrated on numerous occasions—including a 44-point, 10-assist, eight-rebound effort in Game 2 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals—Rondo is particularly capable of keeping it classy on the biggest of stages.
"He's a big-game player. He's amazing," Mavs center Tyson Chandler told reporters after the Celtics game. "To come into a situation like this where you spent your entire career and had incredible success, I know it had to be very emotional. But he came incredibly locked in."
Should he stay that way, this team could become extremely difficult to beat down the stretch—particularly during the months that matter most. In a league increasingly populated by elite point guards, Rondo remains one of the best.
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Knicks Sink to Second Low
The Detroit Pistons won their fourth consecutive game, all in the wake of letting Josh Smith go to the Houston Rockets. This time it was a 97-81 statement against the New York Knicks, who've now lost 10 contests in a row—for the second time this season, no less.
Now sitting at a 5-30 record, Knicks head coach Derek Fisher is still making excuses.
"I think it is a combination of offensively, as we continue to evolve, some offensive frustration," he told reporters after the game. "Guys are not able to execute the things we do work on and things we know how to do. There is never one answer."
And at the moment, there don't seem to be any answers.
Warriors Hang Big Numbers on East's Elite
Draymond Green's triple-double (16 points, 13 assists, 11 rebounds) ordinarily would have been Friday night's headline, but the rest of the Golden State Warriors were also pretty good in their 126-105 win against the 24-9 Toronto Raptors.
Klay Thompson and Marreese Speights combined for 46 points, and Stephen Curry led all scorers with 32 points. He and Thompson also combined to make nine of 17 three-point attempts in one of the squad's finest offensive displays of the season.
Head coach Steve Kerr's team moves to 26-5, one game ahead of the similarly dangerous Portland Trail Blazers.
Thundery Evening in OKC
After recording 44 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in his first game back from a sprained ankle in Wednesday’s 137-134 win against the Phoenix Suns, Kevin Durant turned in another performance befitting a reigning MVP. Durant's 34-point outing led a 109-102 victory over the 22-10 Washington Wizards.
By all appearances, that six-game absence hasn’t left any rust, and that’s good news for a 17-17 OKC team that desperately needs to keep its momentum going in pursuit of playoff positioning.
Hawks Snag No. 1 Seed
Few would have picked the Atlanta Hawks to hold the Eastern Conference's top seed at the turn of the year, but they haven't let modest expectations stop them from surpassing predicted favorites like the Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards, Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Led by Jeff Teague's 26 points and eight assists, Atlanta beat the Utah Jazz by a 98-92 margin. Head coach Mike Budenholzer's up-and-coming squad, after a 14-2 December, is off to a strong start and seems to be for real.
Kobe Nears Triple-Double, Misses Potential Game-Winner
It wasn't the most prolific scoring effort of Kobe Bryant's career, but there was still plenty to like about his line of 15 points, eight assists and nine rebounds. Unfortunately, the 24-8 Memphis Grizzlies were simply too much for a Los Angeles Lakers team that hasn't been able to find its way this season.
In what seems to be emerging as a more bitter than sweet end to the five-time champion's career, Bryant clearly still has it. The shooting isn't what it used to be, but he's finding ways to contribute like a superstar in his 36-year-old prime.
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