Moments after registering his 32nd consecutive game of double-digit assists, Rajon Rondo went to the locker room with a sprained right ankle after landing awkwardly with five minutes left in the third quarter. He fell down on the far sideline opposite the Celtics bench before hobbling back to the bench. He was tended to for several minutes by trainer Ed Lacerte.
After sitting on the bench, Lacerte directed Rondo to the Celtics locker room with three minutes left in the third quarter. Rondo was spotted after the game in the locker room walking without a limp and with no tape on the injured right ankle.
Asked about his availability for Thursday night in Brooklyn against the Nets, Rivers was uncertain.
"I have no idea," Rivers said. "With sprained ankles, [Thursday] you'll know more."
After being held without an assist in the first quarter, he led the Celtics on a run in the second and earned his 10th assist of the night on a feed to Paul Pierce for a 3-pointer. Rondo returned to the Celtics bench with just under a minute left in the third.
The team announced that Rondo "rolled his right ankle" and that, initially, he would "give it a go" for the rest of the game. But Rondo did not return and finished the game on the bench.
"Iffy, and I just felt like it was too early to take that chance," Rivers said of his reasoning for keeping Rondo on the bench.
For more, visit the Celtics team page at weei.com/celtics [1].
Links:
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[2] http://www.weei.com/category/boston/celtics