Rajon Rondo helped Dallas to a trio of triumphs, Gorgui Dieng played very well in a starting role and Russ Smith saw his second game-action with Memphis.
Here’s a closer look at how Rondo and the two University of Louisville products on NBA rosters did in the 20th week of the season.
Rondo (Dallas Mavericks): The Louisville native, former University of Kentucky standout point guard and ninth-year pro averaged eight points, 10.3 assists and 4.7 rebounds in three games for the Mavs, who went 3-0.
Rondo tallied four points, seven assists and four rebounds in Dallas’ 129-99 win over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers last Friday. He was 2 for 5 from the field, including 0 of 1 from 3-point range, while also registering four steals and three turnovers in 22 minutes.
Three nights later Rondo recorded 11 points, 13 assists and four rebounds in the Mavs’ 119-115 victory over visiting Oklahoma City. He was 5 for 8 from the field, including 1 of 2 from 3-point range, and also finished with one steal and four turnovers in 33 minutes.
Wednesday night Rondo tallied nine points, 11 assists and six rebounds in Dallas’ 107-102 win over visiting Orlando. He was 4 for 7 from the field, including 0 of 1 from 3-point range, and 1 for 2 from the free throw line while also registering one steal but committing eight turnovers.
For the season Rondo is averaging 8.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game for the Mavs (44-25), who are third in the Southwest Division and sixth overall in the Western Conference.
Dieng (Minnesota Timberwolves): The second-year center from UofL averaged 12 points, eight rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 blocked shots in four games for the T-Wolves, who went 0-4.
Deing tallied 21 points and 14 assists in Minnesota’s 113-99 loss at Oklahoma City last Friday. Dieng, who started in place of injured center Nikola Pekovic, was 7 for 10 from the field and 7 of 8 from the free throw line while also recording three assists, three blocks, two steals and six turnovers in 42 minutes.
Two nights later Dieng had 10 points and six rebounds in the T-Wolves’ 123-97 loss at San Antonio. Starting for the second straight game he was 5 for 13 from the field and was also 0 of 2 from the free throw line while also recording one block, one steal and two turnovers in 32 minutes.
Monday night Dieng had 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots in Minnesota’s 122-106 loss to visiting Brooklyn. In his third consecutive start he was 4 for 7 from the field and 3 of 4 from the free throw line while also recording two steals and one turnover in 39 minutes.
Two nights later Dieng had six points and seven rebounds in the T-Wolves’ 105-100 loss at Toronto. He was 2 for 9 from the field and 2 of 4 from the free throw line while also recording three assists, two blocked shots, one steal and four turnovers in 38 minutes.
Dieng is averaging 9.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game on the season for Minnesota (14-53), which has the worst record in the Western Conference.
Smith (Memphis Grizzlies): The rookie guard from UofL made his second appearance of the season with Memphis.
Russdiculous tallied four points in the Grizzlies’ 107-87 loss at Washington last Thursday. He was 0-for-3 from the field, including 0 of 1 from 3-point range, but 4 for 4 from the free throw line while also recording one rebound, one assist, one steal and three turnovers in 15 minutes.
Smith then didn’t get off the bench in Memphis’ 96-83 win over Milwaukee on Saturday, its 92-81 win over Denver on Monday and its 105-95 loss at Detroit on Tuesday night.
So far this season Smith is averaging 1.6 points per game in six appearances with the New Orleans Pelicans and two games with Memphis (47-21), which is leading the Southwest Division and is second overall in the Western Conference.
Photo courtesy of the Dallas Mavericks Facebook Page
