RONDO KEEPS THEM MOVING CELTICS: POINT GUARD GIVES BOSTON'S OFFENSE A STEADY FLOW, WHILE GIVING LAKERS FITS.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore

Staff Writer

Allen Iverson was first. Then came Deron Williams. The Lakers avoided Chris Paul, but that just meant they had to face Tony Parker.

By the time the Lakers got through the Western Conference playoffs, it was like surviving a lethal point-guard gamut. One better than the next, and each providing a match-up nightmare.

But if they thought they would seen the last of the quick, darting, daring floor leaders that haunted them at every turn of their Western Conference run, they were badly mistaken.

Lakers, meet Rajon Rondo.

No, he isn't the scorer Denver's Iverson is, and he won't overpower anyone like the physical Williams does in Utah. San Antonio's Parker is quicker and slicker, and he isn't equal to Paul, New Orleans' dynamo and the unquestioned best point guard in the game.

But Rondo has done something none of the others could -- guide his club to a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals, the first time the Lakers have been on the short end of a series lead this postseason.

And he's done it playing a spotless, clean game short on points and long on passing and court awareness and quick darts into the paint to set up teammates with high-percentage shots.

About the only thing that could slow down Rondo was a third-quarter collision with Derek Fisher, which resulted in a mild left ankle sprain. Rondo went to the locker room, got the ankle taped and returned to the bench just a few minutes later.

Rondo sat out the rest of the third quarter, then re-entered the game with eight minutes left in the fourth. But he lasted a little more than four minutes before returning to the bench for the final 3:22, and the Lakers pulled away for an 87-81 victory.

Rondo isn't a big scorer -- he had just four points in the Celtics' Game 2 victory -- but his 16 assists kept Boston's offense flowing. The Celtics ended up with a team-wide 31 assists on 36 field goals, connecting on 53 percent of their shots.

"That speaks for itself," Rondo said. "We're moving the ball, made the next play and made plays for the next guy."

Rondo was the key in that game, superbly guiding the Celtics transition game but more importantly finding the holes in the Lakers defense and darting into the lane. The result was a handful of easy looks for open teammates.

"That's what I take pride in, getting guys the ball," Rondo said. "Like I said, (my teammates) made shots. I just got them the ball."

Rondo averaged 12 assists per game through the Celtics' first two wins, often taking advantage of the slower, older Derek Fisher and his back-up, Jordan Farmar, who is quicker than Fisher but much less experienced.

"We don't seem to get him under control and then he creates," Lakers center Pau Gasol said. "He's a good passer and they've got guys who can knock down shots and make plays."

Coming into the season the Celtics knew what they would be getting from stars Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. The only question was how quickly they would put it all together, considering Garnett was added from Minnesota and Allen from Seattle.

What they didn't know was whether Rondo was up to the challenge of guiding a championship-caliber team. The 22-year old, second-year guard from Kentucky was entrusted with the job of being the floor general for an All-Star laden-team filled with big-money veterans thirsting for their first championship. But if there was anxiety, Rondo never showed it.

"Some games you play well; some games you don't," Rondo said. "But as long as we get the 'W,' that's all that matters."

The Celtics won 66 of them during the regular season, best in the NBA, then survived a difficult run to earn their first Eastern Conference championship in 21 years. All with a player most fans had never heard of running the show.

They certainly know who he is now.

[e-mail]