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Rajon Rondo had his second triple-double in three games, finishing with 18 points, 20 assists and a career-high 17 rebounds, the Celtics ruined Harvard grad Jeremy Lin's return to Boston with a 115-111 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last player to record a triple-double with at least 17 in each category was Magic Johnson, who had 24 points, 17 assists and 17 rebounds on April 18, 1989. The last player to exceed Rondo's performance in each category was Wilt Chamberlain, who had 22 points, 25 rebounds and 21 assists on Feb. 2, 1968. "That's the Rondo we like to see, playing with all that energy," Pierce said. "He got the guys the ball in open spots; he did everything for us tonight. He rebounded, he passed, he got the clutch rebound there in overtime and got the layup. That's the Rondo I like to see." Lin picked up two fouls in the first three minutes and struggled to 14 points in 32 minutes. He had five assists, four rebounds and six turnovers while shooting 6 for 16 from the floor.
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ONLY A FOOL WOULD TRADE RONDO! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – You hope Rajon Rondo put the rumors to rest with his stunning triple-double Sunday afternoon in Boston. You hope anyone contemplating trading away the Celtics’ most dynamic player got a gigantic reminder of the unique set of skills the crafty point guard can unleash on an opponent. It wasJeremy Lin and the New York Knicks’ turn to caught up in the Rondo-Zone on this day. Rondo’s historic triple-double (18 points, 17 rebounds and 20 assists and his fourth of this condensed and abbreviated season) powered the Celtics to the overtime win and once again shined a light on the relentlessness nature of his game, which pales in aesthetics to some of his All-Star counterparts at the position around the league (Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul andDeron Williams make it look easier, particularly on the offensive end). But results are what matter, and Rondo is the only one of the group with a championship ring or even a trip to The Finals on his resume. When you heard Celtics coach Doc Rivers dismiss the trade rumors Friday night, the cynic in you had the same reaction any NBA fan would with the March 15 trade deadline just around the corner. “Of course, you are not trying to trade him, unless …” Unless what? In a league where fit is everything, Rondo is a perfect fit in Boston. Only a fool would miss that and contemplate trading him right now, when it is clear that whatever last gap effort theBig 3+1 makes in the playoffs (provided they stay healthy and make the postseason) begins and ends with whatever work Rondo can do. He capable of doing things that few others, at any position, have been able to do in the history of the league. His performance Sunday marked just the third time in NBA history that a player has recorded at least 20 assists and 17 rebounds in a game. Magic Johnson did it in 1983, with 17 rebounds and 21 assists against the Hawks, and Wilt Chamberlain had 25 rebounds and 21 assists against Detroit in 1968. Only Johnson, Oscar Robertson and Jason Kidd have ever recorded game with 15 or more points, 15 or more rebounds and 15 or more assists. That’s pretty good company, fantastic company actually, for a player whose name has gone through two cycles of the trade rumor mill in the past four months. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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