LeBron James was good for a mere 22 points on 7-for-18 shooting in Game 4. Guess the elbow was hurting again. You know how it works. When LeBron rains 38 on your head he’s healthy, but when he disappears two days later (seven turnovers), he must be hurting.
Rondo, meanwhile, never sleeps. He had 27 points and 12 assists in Game 1. He had 19 assists in 45 minutes in Game 2. He was a mortal 18-point scorer when the Celtics got blown out in Game 3, but yesterday the Cavaliers felt his full fury. He was the Roadrunner, beating Cleveland baseline to baseline. Rondo was on the floor for all but 72 seconds.
Some perspective: According to a release handed out by the Celtics after the game, “Rondo’s performance today was only the third time in NBA history that a player accumulated points, rebounds, and assists totals of that level in an NBA playoff game.’’ The awkwardly worded release cited Oscar Robertson (32 points, 19 rebounds, 13 assists March 26, 1963) and Wilt Chamberlain (29 points, 36 rebounds, 13 assists April 11, 1967).
Everybody’s favorite Rondo moment came late in the third quarter when he got out in front of a fast break and abused LeBron with a rock-the-cradle, behind-the-back pass to Tony Allen for a thunder dunk that broke a 70-70 tie.
“[James] is always chasing me down and he’s blocked some of my layups,’’ said Rondo. “Baby [Glen Davis] made a great pass. I knew LeBron was coming. I had to sell it like I was making a layup. He jumped, and I made the pass.’’
“If he would have laid it up, I would have had it,’’ said James. “That’s why he went behind the back.’’
Sometimes it’s hard to believe Rondo is only 6 feet 1 inch. It’s hard to believe he’s only 24, with four years in the league. It’s hard to believe he was a candidate for benching after a horrible Game 5 in the Finals against the Lakers two years ago. It’s hard to remember he was in Danny Ainge’s doghouse just over a year ago.
