Rajon Rondo

Rajon Rondo had the game of a lifetime for Boston on Wednesday night, playing all 53 minutes of the Celtics' 115-111 overtime loss to the Miami Heat and finishing with 44 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds. He scored all 12 of the Celtics' overtime points, giving his team the lead three separate times, and scored more points in a single overtime than anyone else this season. His coach, Doc Rivers, called Rondo's performance "phenomenal. " Even the opposing team's star player, LeBron James, opened his comments to the press by saying Rondo was "amazing.

Boston 114, at Toronto 107: Rajon Rondo had 22 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for his first triple-double of the season, Rasheed Wallace scored a season-high 29 points and the Celtics beat Toronto for their seventh straight win over the Raptors. Toronto's Chris Bosh fouled out with 31 points and 13 rebounds. Cleveland 106, at Portland 94: LeBron James had 41 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers held off a fourth-quarter rally by the Trail Blazers. Shaquille O'Neal had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

The Celtics' highlight reel after their Game 1 loss to the Lakers, which lacked ample material anyway, was missing a player who's usually good to provide a few neck-turning clips: Rajon Rondo. That's not to say the wiry Boston point guard didn't have decent numbers in the 102-89 loss (13 points, eight assists, six rebounds). But he wasn't able to coordinate the Celtics' offense in his usual ways, in part because of the Lakers' — and especially Kobe Bryant's — defense.

MIAMI — Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra over the past two seasons has been given opportunity after opportunity to respond to any gesture or comment directed toward his team. He has always taken the high road by simply ignoring "the noise. " It was no different when Spoelstra was asked his thoughts on Boston Coach Doc Rivers' saying the Celtics packed a week's worth of luggage for their trip to Miami for Saturday's Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals. In typical Spoelstra fashion, he refused to get caught up in discussing outside factors.

The rumors of Kobe Bryant's demise may be greatly exaggerated, but they're not exactly false. The latest evidence is Bryant's player ranking in NBA 2K13. The 2K Sports video game franchise just announced that Bryant's player ranking (93) trails Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant (94), who graces this year's cover with Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose and Clippers forward Blake Griffin. Yet, Bryant still finishes ahead of New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (92) and Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo (90)

Mike Dunleavy, former coach and general manager of the Clippers, is The Times' guest analyst on the NBA Finals. Dunleavy has coached four NBA teams -- the Clippers, Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks and Portland Trail Blazers. He was NBA coach of the year in 1999 with Portland. The Lakers dozed off on Boston's backcourt Sunday, and the Celtics guards made them pay for that mistake. Ray Allen set a Finals record with eight three-pointers, but Rajon Rondo was the show. His ability to rebound and get the Celtics into the open court kept the Lakers back on their heels.

at Boston 107, Miami 102: Rajon Rondo had 22 points and 14 assists and the Celtics won their second straight game after losing three in a row. Dwyane Wade had 30 points and 13 assists for the Heat. Phoenix 109, at Denver 97: Amare Stoudemire had 20 points and 17 rebounds and the Suns ended the Nuggets' nine-game home winning streak. at Toronto 108, New Jersey 99: The Raptors topped 100 points for the 15th consecutive game and the Nets fell to 4-44, still on pace for the worst record in NBA history.

LAKERS AT BOSTON When: 5 PST. Where: TD Garden. On the air: TV: TNT; Radio: 710, 1330. Records: Lakers 23-26; Celtics 25-23. Record vs. Celtics (2011-12): 2-0. Update: After losing Rajon Rondo because of a season-ending knee injury, the Celtics are 5-0, including victories over Miami and the Clippers. The Celtics continue to hold off Philadelphia for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Former Celtics forward Kevin McHale won three NBA championships with Boston, where he played for 13 seasons. He will be an analyst for NBA TV during the Finals. He famously delivered a hard foul to the Lakers' Kurt Rambis in Game 4 of the 1984 Finals. After McHale flung Rambis to the floor, Boston came back to win the game in overtime and the series in seven games. McHale's preview of the Finals, as told to Times staff writer Diane Pucin: The Celtics will win if Rajon Rondo can put pace in the game and attack Derek Fisher, especially in the fast break or in any kind of odd-man situation.

Team USA is down to its final 12 players for the World Championships, for better or worse. Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo asked to leave the team Tuesday, according to a Team USA news release, though earlier Rondo said he was on the "bubble" to make the squad. That left Lakers forward Lamar Odom, Clippers guard Eric Gordon and 10 other players on their own for the tournament that starts Saturday in Turkey. Team USA wasn't exactly a world-beater in two exhibitions last weekend, struggling most of three quarters before beating Lithuania, 77-61, and then barely fending off Spain, 86-85, which played without Pau Gasol.