Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers (left) tries to drive past Quincy Pondexter of the Memphis Grizzlies during their NBA game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on Friday. Lakers lost 106-109. (AFP)
By Eddie Sefko/The Dallas Morning News (TNS)
The emotional and very well-done video tribute for Rajon Rondo at the end of the first quarter on Friday night didn’t bring the Mavericks’ point guard to tears.
But he no doubt made a few Boston Celtics’ fans cry—either because of how he destroyed his former team or to remind them just what they are missing since the trade that brought Rondo to Dallas. With a lot of green, Celtic No. 9 jerseys in the crowd with “Rondo” splashed on the back, he blistered Boston with a season-high 29 points and the Mavericks rolled to a 119-101 blasting of the Celtics at the TD Garden.
Rondo gave the fans nearly a minute-long salute at the end of the video tribute, clearly fighting back the emotions of returning to where he played the first eight-plus years of his NBA career.
“I just tried to stay focused,” Rondo said of the video tribute. “I just wanted to stay locked in to coach and then say thank you to the fans. I wasn’t too keyed into the video. No tears.
“All around, it was a tough game. It was a lot tonight. Emotionally, physically, I don’t think I’ve ever been this tired after a game before.”
Rondo was a champion with the Celtics. A four-time All-Star, too.
The sellout crowd will never forget those contributions to the landscape of Beantown sports.
Rondo was as good as ever. He added six rebounds and five assists, but the Celtics clearly were daring him to beat them with his shot. He responded by hitting 5-of-7 3-point tries and 12-of-19 shots overall. His points total was the most since January 2013, before his major knee injury.
“If you got a homecoming game, it’s either a complete disaster or you’re on fire,” Dirk Nowitzki said. “There seems to be no in between. He was on fire. Early on, they left him a little bit and he stepped right into them. It’s got to be a hard situation to be in. He couldn’t have handled it better.”
Rondo made his first seven shots and his five 3-pointers were the most of his career. “It was a great welcome from the fans and he obviously had his best game as a Maverick,” coach Rick Carlisle said.
“It’s extremely difficult to come back in this kind of situation and play the way he did. He hit his first seven shots and set the tone. He showed a lot of class with the way he played and the way he acknowledged the crowd. We’re happy to have the win. And we’re happy to have this over with.”
Rondo’s shooting since the trade (the Mavericks are 5-2) is 47 percent overall and over 50 percent (8-for-15) from 3-point land.
He’s been working hard on his shot with Carlisle, but a lot of the improvement likely stems from him benefiting from the Mavericks’ system, which forces defenses to spread the court and opens up more space, therefore creating better looks at the basket.
“This is like a new marriage,” Carlisle said. “You got to learn about each other. It takes time, but both parties are working at it. “The history is that guys that come to Dallas and play with Dirk Nowitzki play better because there’s more space on the floor and because of how teams have to play him. Some of that’s happening here. Teams have been playing off Rondo for years. We’re very vigilant about (keeping Rondo aggressive).”
This clearly was Rondo’s night. And there was no doubt that he embraced it, even if it was a draining day.
Rondo set the tone by scoring the Mavericks’ first 10 points and the Celtics never led. When they got within seven points in the third quarter, Rondo’s pull-up jumper was part of a 6-0 run that stretched the lead to 74-59 and it never dropped below 10 again.
“He did a great job,” said Monta Ellis. “He handled it well. He was locked in. I thought he wasn’t going to miss a shot. He did everything he needed to do to come back and get a win. When you get those memories behind you, it made it easier for him.”
