Rajon Rondo scored 10 in the first half, three of which came on a three-pointer at the buzzer to end the second quarter, and the Boston Celtics are hanging around with the Los Angeles Lakers, trailing 44-42 at halftime on Sunday afternoon.
Boston had a horrible start to the game, missing their first five shots and falling into an early 7-0 hole. The Lakers took advantage and pulled ahead by ten, 24-14, after a 12-2 run to close out the opening quarter, despite turning the ball over seven times. L.A. expanded its lead to 37-22 with 5:29 left in the second and was shooting 55.2 percent while holding Boston to under 30 percent shooting (29.4 percent). At that point, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen were a combined 1-for-11 from the field with two points and the Celtics were being out-rebounded, 23-12.
Kevin Garnett scored eight and had five rebounds, Pierce finished with six points and Avery Bradley scored four off the bench. Boston is shooting 39.5 percent through 24 minutes and holds an 11-5 advantage in the turnover department. Kobe Bryant has 10 points and Andrew Bynum has 11 points and 10 rebounds. L.A. is shooting 51.4 percent.
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