Rajon Rondo helped Dallas to a trio of victories, Gorgui Dieng had a couple near double-doubles and Russ Smith got sent down to the D-League again.
Here’s a closer look at how Rondo and the two University of Louisville products on NBA rosters did in the 12th week of the season.
Rondo (Dallas Mavericks): The Louisville native, former University of Kentucky standout point guard and ninth-year pro averaged 5.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and four assists in three games for the Mavericks, who went 3-0.
First he tallied two points, nine rebounds and eight assists in Dallas’ 97-89 win over Denver this past Friday. He was 1 for 6 from the field, including 0 of 1 from 3-point range, and 0 for 2 from the free throw line. He also had one steal and five turnovers in 29 minutes.
Three days later Rondo recorded six points, three rebounds and a season-low one assist in the Mavs’ 103-95 win at Memphis on Monday. He was 3 for 8 from the field while recording one steal and two turnovers in 26 minutes.
Then Wednesday night Rondo tallied nine points, three assists and one rebound in Dallas’ 98-75 win at Minnesota. He was 4 for 10 from the field (including this layup), including 1 of 2 from 3-point range, and had two turnovers in 21 minutes.
For the season Rondo is averaging 9.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 9.4 assists per game for the Mavs (30-13), who are second (a half-game behind Memphis) in the Southwest Division.
Dieng (Minnesota Timberwolves): The second-year center from UofL averaged 9.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists in four games for the Timberwolves, who went 1-3 this past week.
He had 12 points, six rebounds and four assists in Minnesota’s 110-99 loss at Phoenix on Friday night. He was 5 for 10 from the field and 2 of 2 from the free throw line while also blocking two shots and committing one turnover in 34 minutes.
The next night Dieng had 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the T-Wolves’ 113-105 win at Denver. He was 4 for 8 from the field and 4 of 4 from the free throw line, while also recording one steal, one block and four turnovers in 37 minutes.
Then on Monday afternoon Dieng had nine points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots in Minnesota’s 105-80 loss at Charlotte. He was 3 for 10 from the field, including 1 of 1 from 3-point range, and 2 of 2 from the free throw line while also registering one assist and five turnovers in 33 minutes.
Then two nights later Dieng had six points and seven rebounds in the T-Wolves’ 98-75 loss to visiting Dallas. He was 3 for 6 for the field and also had one assist and one turnover in 25 minutes.
Dieng is averaging 9.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game on the season for Minnesota (7-34), which is fifth in the Northwest Division and has the worst record in the Western Conference.
Smith (Memphis Grizzlies): The rookie guard from UofL was active, but didn’t play, for two games with his new team before being sent back to the NBA’s D-League.
Russdiculous got “DNP Coach’s Decision” in Memphis’ 106-96 win at Orlando last Friday and its 102-98 win over Portland on Saturday. He was then inactive in the Grizzlies’ 103-95 loss to visiting Dallas on Monday afternoon before being assigned to the Iowa Energy, the Grizzlies’ NBA Development League affiliate, the next day.
Smith, who averaged 0.8 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.3 assists in six appearances with the New Orleans Pelicans this season, is awaiting to see his first action with Memphis.
Photo courtesy of the Dallas Mavericks Facebook Page
