Rajon Rondo had one wild stat line, Gorgui Dieng recorded his third double-double of the season, Francisco Garcia had a season-high assist total and Russ Smith made his third appearance of the season.
Here’s a closer look at how Rondo and the trio of University of Louisville products on NBA rosters did in the fifth week of the season:
Rondo (Boston Celtics): The Louisville native, former University of Kentucky standout point guard and ninth-year pro averaged 3.5 points, 11.5 assists and seven rebounds in four games for the Celtics.
He recorded eight points, nine assists and seven rebounds in Boston’s 109-102 loss to Chicago this past Friday night. He was 4 for 13 from the field, including 0 of 1 from 3-point range, and 0 of 2 from the free throw line. He also had one steal and two turnovers in 33 minutes.
Sunday afternoon Rondo tallied two points, 10 assists and six rebounds in the Celtics’ 111-89 loss to San Antonio. He was 1 for 5 from the field and 0 of 2 from the free throw line in 31 minutes.
Tuesday night Rondo had an incredible stat line - two points, a season-high 19 assists, a season-high 12 rebounds and a season-high seven turnovers in the Celtics’ 109-105 loss at Atlanta. He was 1 for 8 from the field, including 0 of 3 from 3-point range, while also recording one steal and one blocked shot in 34 minutes.
Then the next night he tallied two points, dished out eight assists and grabbed three rebounds as Boston snapped a five-game losing streak with a 109-102 overtime win over visiting Detroit.
For the season Rondo is averaging 8.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and a league-leading 10.9 assists per game for the Celtics (5-11).
Dieng (Minnesota Timberwolves): The second-year center from UofL is coming off another productive week (averaging 9.3 points and 8.8 rebounds in four games), as he continues to start, for Minnesota.
First he tallied four points, seven rebounds and eight assists in the Timberwolves’ 120-119 win over the Lakers this past Friday night. He was 1 of 2 from the field and 2 for 2 from the free throw line in 23 minutes.
Two nights later Dieng had 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists in Minnesota’s 107-93 loss at Portland. He was 4 for 10 from the field and 3 of 4 from the free throw line while also recording two steals and committing one turnover in 37 minutes.
Then Monday night Dieng tallied seven points, five assists and four rebounds in the T-Wolves’ 127-101 loss to the host Clippers. He was 3 for 5 from the field and 1 of 1 from the foul line while also recording one steal in 20 minutes.
Wednesday night Dieng had a double-double (15 points, 16 rebounds) in Minnesota’s 85-77 loss to visiting Philadelphia - the 76ers’ first win of the season. He was 6 for 12 from the field and 3 of 5 from the free throw line and also had two assists and two steals against four turnovers in 41 minutes.
Dieng is averaging 8.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game for Minnesota (4-13).
Garcia (Houston Rockets): The 10th-year swingman from UofL averaged five points in 18.8 minutes over four games.
He scored eight points in the Rockets’ 102-85 loss to the visiting Clippers this past Friday night. Garcia was 3 for 8 from the field, including 2 of 6 from 3-point range, and grabbed one rebound in 20 minutes of action.
The next night he tallied two points in Houston’s 117-103 victory at Milwaukee. He was 1 for 7 from the field, including 0 of 6 from 3-point range, while grabbing two rebounds, dishing out one assist, blocking one shot and committing one turnover in 18 minutes.
Wednesday night he scored six points and dished out a season-best four assists in the Rockets’ 105-96 win over visiting Memphis. He was 2 for 4 from the field, including 2 of 2 from 3-point range, and grabbed one rebound and blocked one shot in 21 minutes.
Garcia is averaging 3.3 points per game for the Rockets (14-4).
Smith (New Orleans Pelicans): The rookie guard from UofL made his third appearance of the season for the Pelicans (8-8) this past week.
Smith went scoreless, committing two turnovers in two minutes in New Orleans’ 100-91 loss at Atlanta this past Friday night. The next night he was inactive for the Pelicans’ 83-80 loss at Washington then was active, but didn’t play, in New Orleans’ 112-104 win over Oklahoma City on Tuesday night.
Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Timberwolves Facebook Page
