Projo Sports Blog

By ROBERT LEE
JOURNAL SPORTS WRITER

BOSTON -- Quick.

Name the Celtic who took the most shots last night.

Paul Pierce?

Wrong.

Ray Allen?

Try again.

Well then surely it must be Kevin Garnett.

Strike three.

If you said Rajon Rondo then give yourself a hand.

No, that’s not a misprint. Rondo took a team-high 20 shots in last night’s NBA Finals clinching, 131-92 victory over Los Angeles.

The same Rondo who had only combined to take 23 shots in Boston’s previous four games against Los Angeles.

The Lakers were so confident that Rondo was not going to shoot the ball in LA that the Lakers put superstar Kobe Bryant on him and he stayed in the paint and helped out other players instead of guarding Rondo when he had the ball outside the 3-point line.

But Rondo shot the ball a lot last night, finishing with 17 points in a surprising offensive outburst that had not been seen since Game One against the Lakers when he scored 15 points.

For his effort, Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson called Rondo the player of the game.

“I wasn't feeling any pressure,” Rondo said. “That's what it's about. Our key word we used the entire year is "Ubuntu." If I'm not playing well I wish Sam the best to try to get the W. I don't feel any pressure if they're playing better than me. It's a team effort.

Rondo entered last night’s game averaging just seven points per game in the Finals.

“It's been a long time coming,” Rondo said. “Last time we won a championship was when I was born. So I don't – I'm just definitely excited to be a part of this organization, especially going through what we went through last year as a team, all the trades this summer.

“Like I said, I'm just glad to be a part of this organization, a Celtic, and we got the win.”

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