Rajon Rondo Saves His Best For National TV; Kobe Gets Retaliation On Dwyane Wade

17 times in Rajon Rondo‘s career he’s finished with a triple-double. And 13 of those have come on national television. This one might’ve been the best of all: 18 points, 17 rebounds and 20 assists, only the third guy in NBA history to put up a line like that (Wilt and Oscar are the only others). At one point in the fourth quarter, we looked around and said “Damn, if he didn’t miss a couple of easy layups in the first half, dude would really have a shot at a 20-20-20 game.” He was everywhere at once, but it was Paul Pierce‘s (34 points) shot at the end of regulation that saved the Green. His three-pointer capped a ridiculous back and forth with Carmelo Anthony (25 points) in the closing moments where ‘Melo hit three consecutive shots. In overtime, Boston finished off the visitors, 115-111 … Rondo might be the weirdest player in the entire league. Just last Tuesday, he scored zero against Cleveland. Next time he drifts into a slump just throw Jeremy Lin in front of him. We don’t know what’s worse for Lin in front of his Harvard crowd: getting turned into soft serve ice cream by Rondo or shooting 6-for-16 and coughing it up six times in barely 30 minutes. The Knicks as a team probably had something like 913 turnovers in the first half … Rondo might not have even had the best individual performance yesterday. The Nets/Bobcats game surprisingly wasn’t vomit-inducing because Deron Williams scored 40… in the second half, and finished with 57 in the Nets three-point win over Charlotte. With Williams being surrounded yesterday by the worst supporting cast since T-Mac was in Orlando, we’ll even give him extra credit for his performance. Then again, he did it against the Bobcats, who are all so lost in MJ‘s shadow that they can’t even see the hoop (this was the first time in 22 games that they reached 100 points). It was like someone coded in the old Yao Ming three-point hook shot cheat in NBA Live – Williams was banging from all over the place (not to mention he made every one of his 21 free throws). At one point, he hit a shot (that eventually turned into a four-point play) off the screen from about 30 feet out where his body was nearly facing the bench … Deron Williams’ first phone call after the game better have been to Dwight HowardDeMar DeRozan had one of his better games of the year (25 points) as Toronto rolled on Golden State, 83-75 … The Bulls have Derrick Rose. Philly doesn’t. The reigning MVP – who’s going to start hearing the chants again soon – had 35 points, and made a crazy, running floater off the wrong foot in the closing seconds to help secure Chicago’s 96-91 win in Philly. The Bulls now have the best record in the league again, and given their approach to every game, we’re not sure they give it up … If Spencer Hawes was around, then the Sixers might’ve had enough down the stretch. Alas, he isn’t walking through that door and we’re forced to watch as it comes down to an Andre Iguodala three, one that doesn’t hit the rim and nearly leaves a dent in the backboard … Keep reading to hear about Kobe’s revenge …

Kobe loves to tell people he has no rivals. And he won’t admit the hit Dwyane Wade gave his mug during the All-Star Game provided some extra fuel. But it definitely looked like it. He dropped 18 in the first quarter alone, and finished with 33 in the game as the Lakers had one of their best wins of the last year or two. They led for the last 44 minutes against Miami, and ended up with a 93-83 W. LeBron finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, but with Wade (16 points) swept up in the Kobe System, and Miami’s frontline being annihilated without Chris Bosh, it didn’t matter … Before the game, the cameras got a shot of Wade and LeBron walking into the arena, and they were doing their best once again to top their All-Star Saturday night getups for “How to spent hundreds of dollars on an outfit that still makes you look like a fool.” Even Derek Zoolander would’ve shook his head at Wade. And LeBron? With that man purse? Son, that one was so bad you wouldn’t even fit in with Alan from The Hangover … For once, it wasn’t Chris Paul doing the flopping. Down one with the ball, CP3 iso-ed against Kyle Lowry, Lowry flew backwards like he was a Hollywood stunt man, and Paul canned the easy jumper. The problem? After Houston tied it with a free throw, Paul tried the same move – this time on Courtney Lee – and didn’t even get a shot off. OT. In the extra frame, after both teams traded missed freebies, turnovers and all-around dumb basketball, it came down to Kevin Martin (25 points), who had a great look at a three and couldn’t put it down. The Clippers walked out with a 105-103 win behind 28 and 10 from Paul … Ty Lawson finished one rebound shy of a triple-double (22 points, 11 assists, nine boards) as the Nuggets went into Texas and beat the Spurs, 99-94 … And the Suns won their third straight game, 96-88 over Sacramento. Marcin Gortat continued to run through everyone in his path, finishing with 14 points and 17 rebounds while Steve Nash had 19 points. The Suns are now 17-20, and they might be the worst 17-20 team we’ve seen in a long time … We’re out like NBA fashion.

For breaking news, rumors, exclusive content, and contests sent right to your inbox, sign up here for the Dime Email Newsletter.

Follow Dime Magazine on Twitter

Become a fan of Dime Magazine on Facebook

×