Rondo hurt again, but Celtics still beat Nets

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Monday, December 06, 2010

GoLocalProv Sports Team

Just when it looked like he was back on track, Rajon Rondo hit another roadblock in his comeback from a hamstring injury. Luckily – for now – it happened in New Jersey against the woeful Nets.

Rondo sat out Sunday’s game after re-aggravating the injury during warm-ups, but the Celtics cruised to a 100-75 win behind the performance of backup point guard Nate Robinson, who finished with a game-high 21 points and six assists.

The Celtics (16-4) have won seven consecutive games, but there’s no telling how much longer that streak will last if Rondo is to miss an extended period of time. For now, there’s no timetable on his return. The Celtics also lost center Shaquille O’Neal, who started the game despite a sore right calf, but ultimately left in the first half when the pain was too much to bear. Sunday was the second time this season the Celtics have lost a key player to injury during a game against the Nets; on Nov. 24 in Boston, Delonte West broke his wrist driving to the basket. He's since had surgery and is out indefinitely.

Celtics’ coach Doc Rivers had planned on utilizing his bench Sunday, and it turns out the circumstances allowed him to do so. Between losing Rondo and O’Neal and building a 32-point lead in the second half, Rivers’ emptying his bench was a no-brainer. The “Big 3” of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen played just under 30 minutes apiece while reserves Glen Davis (29 minutes), Marquis Daniels (30), Semih Erden (18), Von Wafer (18) and Avery Bradley (14) logged the majority of the minutes down the stretch.

Davis led all reserves with 16 points and nine rebounds while Allen and Garnett finished with 13 points apiece. With Robinson scoring eight of his 21 points in the first four minutes of the game, the Celtics built a quick, 11-8 lead and never looked back. They pulled away for good in the second quarter, outscoring New Jersey, 30-12. The Nets dropped to 6-15 with their fourth consecutive loss. The Celtics will search for their eight consecutive win Wednesday at home against Denver.

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