Los Angeles - Rajon Rondo doesn't need to score many points to be effective. Paul Pierce scored 20 of his 22 points in the third quarter, Rondo handed out 16 assists and the undefeated Boston Celtics blew out the visiting Chicago Bulls, 118-90 on Friday night.
"Rajon was the most dominant player on the floor," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said of his speedy point guard. "I think he had a fantastic game. He took two shots tonight and someone who reads the stats would say, 'He only scored two points tonight.' But if you didn't see the game you wouldn't know the impact he had on our team tonight."
"I was trying to get my teammates involved," Rondo said. "I'm a very unselfish player and I want to keep my guys happy."
Eddie House had 22 points off the bench, Ray Allen chipped in with 20, while Kevin Garnett finished with 16 for Boston, which improved to 3-0 on the season.
"It seems the offence as well as the defence was clicking tonight," House said. "Guys were knocking down easy shots, Rondo was finding guys in stride. When we have nights like that it's trouble for other teams."
The two teams were meeting for the first time since the Celtics outlasted the Bulls in last spring's dramatic seven-game series. However, this one was over by halftime.
Boston utilized a stingy defence to grab a 50-35 lead against the Bulls, who out-hustled the San Antonio Spurs in their opener, just 24 hours earlier.
Pierce took charge in the third quarter with five three-pointers and Rondo handed out nine assists as the Celtics outscoring the visitors 38-26, on a torrid 15-of-20 shooting to open up a commanding 88-61 cushion.
"As a scorer if you make one or two in a row you feel like you are on fire," Pierce said. "Rondo kept finding me in the third quarter and we were able to break the game open."
John Salmons led the Bulls (1-1) with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
"It's an early season test for us and we didn't respond real well," Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. "In the third they just jumped on us. We weren't physical enough. They are difficult to contend with."
Elsewhere: Dallas Mavericks 94, LA Lakers 80 German juggernaut Dirk Nowitzki had 21 points with 10 rebounds while Shawn Marion added 18 points as the Mavericks (1-1) snapped a six-game slide against the NBA Champions.
Kobe Bryant scored 20 points while Andrew Bynum had 14 with 10 rebounds for the Lakers (1-1) who fell to 33-4 against Dallas at Staples Centre.
Cleveland Cavaliers 104, Minnesota Timberwolves 87 LeBron James scored 24 points, Mo Williams had 20 and the visiting Cavaliers avoided their first 0-3 start since the 2004-05 season.
Orlando Magic 95, New Jersey Nets 85 Dwight Howard had 20 points, 22 rebounds and four blocks, helping the Magic (2-0) overcome the loss to Vince Carter.
Carter scored 16 points in is first visit to New Jersey since being dealt last spring, but left in the second quarter with a left ankle sprain as the Nets dropped to 0-2.
Oklahoma City Thunder 91, Detroit Pistons 83 Kevin Durant scored 11 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, and the Thunder (2-0) rolled to its second consecutive victory.
Atlanta Hawks 100, Washington Wizards 89 Josh Smith scored 20 points, Joe Johnson added 17, helping the Hawks (2-0) whip the visiting Wizards.
Gilbert Arenas led Washington (1-1) with 23 points..
Miami Heat 96, Indiana Pacers 83 Dwyane Wade scored 32 points, while Jermaine O'Neal had 22 with 12 rebounds against his former team as the Heat (2-0) snapped a 14-game slide at Indiana.
Danny Granger topped the Pacers (0-2) with 22 points.
Charlotte Bobcats 102, New York Knicks 100 (2 OT) D.J. Augustin sank two free throws with 2.5 seconds left in the second overtime as the host Bobcats regrouped after blowing an 18-point, fourth-quarter lead.
David Lee led New York (0-2) with 17 points and 18 rebounds.
Memphis Grizzlies 115, Toronto Raptors 107 Zach Randolph scored 30 points, Spaniard Marc Gasol had 19, helping the Grizzlies (1-1) to their first win of the season.
Chris Bosh led the visiting Raptors (1-1) with 37 points and 12 rebounds.
Charlotte Hornets 97, Sacramento Kings 92 Chris Paul poured in 31 points, and Emeka Okafor blocked Kevin Martin's potential game-tying three-point try in the closing seconds, helping the Hornets (1-1) win their home opener.
Philadelphia 76ers 99, Milwaukee Bucks 86 Andre Iguodala scored 19 points, Elton Brand had 17 and the 76ers (1-1) won their home opener over the Bucks (0-1).
Utah Jazz 111, LA Clippers 98 Paul Millsap scored 14 of his 23 of his points in the fourth quarter, and the host Jazz avoided its first 0-2 start since 2002, by keeping the Clippers winless.
Eric Gordon had 22 points for the Clippers (0-3), who dropped to 1-35 all-time at Utah.
Phoenix Suns 123, Golden State Warriors 101 Brazilian Leandro Barbosa scored 24 points, Steve Nash had 18 with 20 assists, leading the Suns (2-0) to their home opener blowout over the Warriors (0-2).
