As always happens to some degree in the Celtics’ travels, much of the Pepsi Center had gone green Monday night.
Whether those fans in the sellout crowd moved to Colorado to escape the Big Dig, because they hated chowder or because of any other reason, they got to holler heartily for most of the evening, and it didn’t require encouragement from the sophomoric cheerleading the Nuggets’ public- address announcer inflicts on the Denver fans.
After the Celtics’ 114-76 romp, Boston point guard Rajon Rondo said that when he noticed the noise and all the green, he turned to teammates Paul Pierce and Kendrick Perkins and asked: “Is this a home game?”
It might as well have been.
Even minus Kevin Garnett, out with a strained right knee, the Celtics embarrassed Denver, countering the Nuggets’ unlikely win at the TD Bank- north Garden in mid-November. Rondo, at 6-feet-1 the smallest man on the floor, had 14 points — 11 of them in the first quarter — plus eight rebounds and eight assists in drastically outplaying Chauncey Billups on one of the Denver point guard’s rare horrible nights.
“I really admire his game, respect his game a lot,” Rondo said of Billups, who was 1-for-8 from the floor and had only three points. “I guess it was a tough night for him. He missed shots he usually makes, and that was good for me.”
Boston coach Doc Rivers said, “Rondo was great. At one point, he was our best rebounder. He had a ton of offensive rebounds early, which breaks our rules because we want our guards to get back. But he’s so good at it, as long as he doesn’t get burned, we allow him to do it.”
It’s getting to the point where Garnett can be back in Boston in the early stages of what is expected to be a two- to three- week recuperation after suffering the injury Thursday at Utah — and the Celtics still have a Big Three.
The next time around, ESPN could reshoot the “SportsCenter” commercial with a four-man cast of stars, plugging Rondo in with Ray Allen, Garnett and Pierce.
At the outset of the 2007-08 season, Rondo was coming off an unimpressive rookie season for a 24-win team and was considered the potential weak link in the newly assembled powerhouse lineup. He has answered all those questions and even would have been a justifiable addition to the Eastern Conference roster for the All-Star Game last week. Instead, he settled for a restful visit to the Cayman Islands.
In his third season, the former Kentucky Wildcat already has been on the point for an NBA champion, and now he’s capable of being the most influential Celtic on the floor for some stretches. On Monday, he lit the spark and also eventually helped Allen get 26 points and Pierce 22.
Plus, a day earlier, Rondo had a career-high 32-point game against Phoenix on his 23rd birthday.
“I’m still a role player,” he said Monday night. “I just want to win another championship. My role is intangibles, run the show, score when needed and be aggressive on the offensive end. With K.G. out of the lineup, it doesn’t really change anything.”
Billups’ development into a star came long after his lackluster stint of less than a full season with the Celtics at the outset of his NBA career, and even after he played 58 games with Denver in his first stint with the Nuggets.
Rondo, who like Billups entered the draft after his sophomore collegiate season, has gotten there faster.
“I think it’s helped, playing with three great players,” Rivers said. “That’s allowed him to grow faster, almost under the radar for a while, and I think that’s really helped him. He has great confidence. He’s as confident as a young guy as I’ve ever seen come in the league. He believes in what he can do. He takes the challenges.
“Last year, everyone said there was no way you can win with him, and he proved them wrong. He’s very resilient, he fights back when he struggles in games. Last year in the playoffs, there were games here and there where he struggled, and the next night he had great games. He’s just a mentally tough kid.”
And he’s getting better.
Terry Frei: 303-954-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com
