Recap: Rondo, Zeller & co. team up to handle Lakers

During the 1st quarter of tonight’s Celtics-Lakers game, each team did one thing consistently-for Boston, it was score. For the Lakers, it was turning the ball over. The Celtics shot a blistering 61% from the field, and were up 30-20 after 1. LA turned the ball over 4 times in the quarter and looked sloppy for most of it. However the C’s turned sloppy themselves towards the end of the 1st, allowing the Lakers to go on an 11-5 run to end the quarter. Rondo looked aggressive early, going for 6 pts & 5 asts, but when he hit the bench, the team seemed to lose it’s “spunk” for lack of a better word.

LA continued to chip away in the second. Behind Wayne Ellington & Ed Davis, LA opened the period on an 8-0 run, and Boston’s lead was down to five points. With 9:02 until halftime & Boston up 33-28, Brad Stevens called a timeout. Boston was running a half court offense that looked absolutely lost. After Stevens’ timeout, Phil Pressey looked to pick up the tempo. When that didn’t work, Rondo came back in-and he was exactly what the C’s needed. Rondo got Boston “up and running again”, and he Zeller & Olynyk helped the C’s push the lead back up to ten points, 51-41 w/2:04 left in the half. But as we’ve seen with this group, Boston fell asleep for the last couple of minutes of the quarter, allowing Jeremy Lin to score a quick 5 points, including a driving layup at the buzzer. It was 53-48 Boston at the half. Kobe Bryant was relatively quiet over the first two quarters, as good defense by Bradley & Green limited the Mamba to 11 pts on 4 of 10 shooting.

Boston opened their lead back up in the 3rd quarter. With “the good Rondo” back out on the floor, the Celtics flourished. This is the Rajon Rondo we all know and love. Setting up guys like Zeller for easy hoops, finding Bradley in transition and Sully down low. Sure, he shot 0 for 5 in the quarter, but his 6 assists & 5 rebounds more than made up for it. Boston scored 33 points in the 3rd & was up 86-70 heading into the final frame. Celtics fans now had just one question? How would Boston blow this one?

But alas..they would not. Rajon, Zeller and Avery Bradley pummeled the Lakers in the 4th, and the Celtics beat their rivals 113-96. Celtics dominated in every facet of this game, and if not for 9 missed free-throws, it would have been a more lopsided win. C’s are off tomorrow before facing Paul Pierce & the Wizards on Sunday at the Garden. Tip-off is at 1pm EST.

The Green:

• Tyler Zeller was a beast tonight. Zeller had a career-high 24 points & grabbed 14 rebounds. He was 10 of 11 from the floor and 4 of 4 from the line.
• Rondo dished out 16 assists to go with 12 points & 8 rebounds.
• Jeff Green (19), Sully (17) & Bradley (16) combined for 52 points which is exactly what you want from your starters.

The Gross:
No caption needed:

The Greenlights:
All Tyler, all the time

Rondo nifty layup

Rondo ridiculous thread the needle pass in slow-mo

Sully & Thornton

The Grid: (quick stats)

• Marcus Smart did not see action tonight, but Stevens said he did have clearance to play.
• Celtics out rebounded Lakers 54-38
• Boston shot 51% from the field and had 54 points in the paint
• Quote of the night-from Rajon post game:
  

  Rajon Rondo on his breakfast with Kobe: "just two assholes having breakfast."

  — Jay King (@ByJayKing) December 6, 2014

Box score