Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo's ankles are "fine" after twice tweaking them in Friday night's 95-94 overtime loss to the 76ers. He is expected to play in Saturday night's rematch in Boston.
Paul Pierce landed on Rondo's ankle while grabbing a rebound with 1:47 remaining in regulation, but Rondo limped through it and continued to play. Then, on Rondo's failed baseline jumper as overtime expired, both ankles buckled as he slippped on a Sixers decal on the Wells Fargo Center floor. His Celtics teammates rushed to his aid, helping him to his feet and off the court.
"He left the locker room walking fine," the Celtics media relations staff relayed, "and [coach] Doc [Rivers] nor our trainer [Ed Lacerte] mentioned anything."
Rondo missed a game against the Nets this season with a sprained ankle, and he has missed extended stretches in both of the past seasons with the same injury.
On Friday night, Rondo joined Larry Bird and Magic Johnson as the only players to record a stat line of 16 points, 14 assists, 13 rebounds, three blocks and three steals since the last two stats became officially recorded in the 1973.-74 NBA season. However, in the final 6:47 after first tweaking his ankle, he registered only one assist and a steal to go along with two missed field goals -- both potential game-winners as the clock ran out on the fourth quarter and overtime.
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