Rondo’s return lifts Boston past Toronto
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Celtics’ point guard Rajon Rondo returned from his hamstring injury Friday night and finished with 14 assists despite looking less than 100 percent at times as Boston avenged last weekend’s loss to Toronto with a 110-101 win over the Raptors at the TD Garden.
With three consecutive off-days starting tonight, Celtics’ head coach Doc Rivers let Rondo run free without any restrictions. Rondo played 35 minutes through a noticeable limp and led the offense without missing a beat. The Raptors, who rallied for a late win in Toronto (6-10) last weekend, kept it close in the first half before the Celtics (12-4) broke it open in the third quarter. Boston outscored the Raptors, 28-15, in the third to turn a six-point halftime lead into an insurmountable 19-point edge entering the fourth.
With Rondo back at the point, the Celtics looked as balanced offensively as they have all season in their third consecutive win. Four players reached double figures in scoring, led by Kevin Garnett, who finished with a game-high 26-points on 10-of-18 shooting and brought tremendous energy defensively with 11 rebounds and a pair of steals. Veteran center Shaquille O’Neal continued his resurgence with 16 points, two blocks and nine rebounds and Paul Pierce finished with 18 points and three blocks. The Celtics blocked a total of eight shots as a team.
Boston leaned heavily on its starters with a three-day break on the horizon. The only reserve who made an impression was Glen Davis with 18 points in 26 minutes, whereas Toronto’s bench chipped in with 63 points to account for more than half of the Raptors’ scoring. Linas Kleiza led Toronto with 18 points off the bench, followed by Leandro Barbosa with 14.
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