HOUSTONRajon Rondo was trending towards yet another triple-double Friday night, but this one of a more dubious nature than most.
He had 15 points, 13 assists and needed just three turnovers - not rebounds - for the trifecta.
Rondo's season-high turnover night was just one of several things to go wrong for the Celtics in losing 101-89 to the Houston Rockets.
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Boston spent way too much of Friday night playing catch-up as the Rockets did the bulk of their damage against Boston's starters.
"We had some runs, but you never felt like we were going to win tonight," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers.
Boston's defensive rotations were a step slow all game, a sign that the C's double overtime win over Dallas on Wednesday might have taken more out of them than they thought.
Players weren't about to use what happened 48 hours earlier as a reason for the loss.
"We have to come out and play to the best of our ability," said Paul Pierce. "No excuses."
And while there's plenty of blame pie to go around, Rivers is taking a big slice for himself.
Here's a recap of the keys identified prior to tip-off, and how they actually played out in Boston's 101-89 loss to the Rockets.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Boston has to use its defense to fuel its offense early, so forcing the youngest team in the NBA to turn the ball over a lot - and convert those miscues into points - will be huge for the Celtics.
WHAT WE SAW: The second quarter was about as good as it the night would be for the Celtics as they feasted off a slew of Houston turnovers as part of an 18-2 run. But Boston was only able to force five turnovers in the second half that generated just six points which factored heavily in the Rockets outscoring the C's by 14 in the final two quarters of play.
MATCHUP TO WATCH: Rajon Rondo vs Jeremy Lin. Rondo is going to get double digit assists, but he has taken his rebounding game to another level with nine or more in each of the last three games. Lin-sanity has died down significantly, but he is looking more like a solid NBA point guard.
WHAT WE SAW: Rondo (15 points, 13 assists) won the statistical battle, but Lin's ability to hit timely shots (he only made two all game) along with a solid job of running the offense (seven assists with three turnovers compared to Rondo who had a season-high seven turnovers) was a much bigger deal and key to Houston getting the win.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Courtney Lee has said this is just another game, but all players feel a pinch of payback when they face a former team for the first time. The best thing he can do is try and slow down Harden for the C's to notch another road win.
WHAT WE SAW: Lee was as aggressive as we've seen him to start a game, with five points coming in the first quarter. But he would manage just three points the rest of the night and like his teammates seemed to regress as the game wore on.
STAT TO TRACK: Boston's transition defense will be challenged by a Houston squad that's always looking to run and attack. They come into tonight's game averaging 16.9 fast break points per game which ranks fourth in the league. Meanwhile, Boston is giving up just 12.6 fast break points per game which ranks eighth in the NBA.
WHAT WE SAW: Boston had its moments of strong transition defense, but they were few and far between. Houston got out and ran effectively in the second half by scoring 13 fast-break points on 5-for-6 shooting.