Rondo's Buzzer-Beating Double Lifts Lakers Past Former Employers Celtics
8th February 2019
The 32-year-old, a key member of Boston's 2008 NBA Championship-winning team, finished with 17 points
- Rajon Rondo returned to haunt the Boston Celtics with a game-winning buzzer-beater as the Los Angeles Lakers bounced back from a thrashing to score a dramatic 129-128 victory on Thursday
- A roller coaster battle at the TD Garden Arena was settled in the final seconds when Rondo's fadeaway jump shot dropped into the hoop to silence a raucous Boston crowd
- It was a bittersweet moment for Rondo, who launched his career with the Celtics and spent eight seasons in Boston before leaving in 2014
- Elsewhere Thursday, Pascal Siakam piled on 33 points, 14 rebounds and four assists to lead Toronto to a comfortable 119-101 win over the Atlanta Hawks
LOS ANGELES, United States- Rajon Rondo returned to haunt the Boston Celtics with a game-winning
buzzer-beater as the Los Angeles Lakers bounced back from a thrashing to score
a dramatic 129-128 victory on Thursday.
A roller coaster
battle at the TD Garden Arena was settled in the final seconds when Rondo's
fadeaway jump shot dropped into the hoop to silence a raucous Boston crowd.
It was a bittersweet
moment for Rondo, who launched his career with the Celtics and spent eight
seasons in Boston before leaving in 2014.
The 32-year-old, a
key member of Boston's 2008 NBA Championship-winning team, finished with 17
points.
"I couldn't
picture it being this sweet coming back, where it all started, our team
struggling right now," Rondo said. "Hopefully this will give us
confidence."
The win came just
two days after the Lakers and LeBron James suffered a humiliating 42-point
defeat to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday.
Another ominous
occasion looked on the cards on Thursday as the Celtics surged into a 53-35
lead midway through the second quarter.
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But that 18-point
deficit proved to be a catalyst for the Lakers, who seized control of the
contest with an explosive burst of scoring that included a remarkable 42-point
third period.
The Celtics rallied
in the final quarter however and looked to have snatched a win when Kyrie
Irving's banked one in to make 128-127 with 11 seconds left. But Rondo's late
jumper sealed a morale-boosting win for the Lakers.
"We've been
through a lot," Rondo said. "We've stuck together. Coach has done a
tremendous job with us. I think it shows we're resilient. We're a group of guys
who are hungry, just looking forward to each day."
While Rondo's scored
the winning points, the Lakers were hauled into contention with a towering
performance from James, who led the scoring with 28 points and added 12
rebounds and 12 assists for a triple double.
Kyle Kuzma also
added 24 points, one of seven Lakers players in double figures on the night.
The Lakers improved to 28-27 with the win while Boston fell to 35-20.
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James' former
Cleveland team-mate Irving led the scoring for Boston with 24 points.
Elsewhere Thursday,
Pascal Siakam piled on 33 points, 14 rebounds and four assists to lead Toronto
to a comfortable 119-101 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
With Kawhi Leonard
ruled out through injury, Siakam stepped up to lead the offensive scoring for
the Raptors, who improved to 40-16 with the win.
All five Raptors
starters made double figures, with Fred VanVleet adding 30 points and Kyle
Lowry 13.
Serge Ibaka and
Danny Green both had 12 points each while Norman Powell added 11 from the
bench.
Trae Young and
Taurean Prince had 19 points apiece for the Hawks, who fell to 18-36 with the
defeat.
In Oklahoma City,
triple-double king Russell Westbrook delivered once again to give the Thunder
ad convincing 117-95 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Westbrook finished
with 15 points, 13 rebounds and 15 assists while Paul George led the scoring
with 27 points. Six Thunder players finished with double-digit points tallies.
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OKC's 35th win of
the season saw them tighten their grip on third place in the Western Conference
table, behind the Golden State Warriors (38-15) and Denver Nuggets (37-17).
The Indiana Pacers
meanwhile remain firmly in pursuit in the Eastern Conference after a 116-92 defeat
of the Los Angeles Clippers in Indianapolis.
Bojan Bogdanovic
topped the scoring for the Pacers with 29 points after making 12 of 19 field
goal attempts.
The Pacers are now
third in the East at 36-19, trailing leaders Milwaukee and second-placed Toronto.