Celtics 114, Kings 97
Guard Isaiah Thomas scored 21 points and added nine assists, and the Boston Celtics made it a miserable trip to Mexico for Rajon Rondo and the Sacramento Kings in a 114-97 whipping at Mexico City Arena on Thursday.
Thomas ripped apart his former team from the beginning, scoring 19 points in the opening half and 12 in the first 12 minutes as Boston ran to leads of 32-17 after one period and 51-36 at halftime.
Center Kelly Olynyk came off the bench to add 21 points for the Celtics (11-8), who won for the fourth time in five game and made the annual NBA Global Game a dull one on the scoreboard.
On the court, it was not so calm.
Rondo, who played his first eight-plus seasons with Boston and is now the NBA's assist leader in his first campaign with the Kings, barked several times at referee Bill Kennedy in the third quarter and was ejected with 6:30 to go. He finished with only five points and eight assists in 24 minutes.
In Rondo's only previous performance against his former team, he scored 29 points for the Dallas Mavericks, and made five 3-pointers in a 109-91 win on Jan. 2. Rondo played 48 games for Dallas after being dealt by the Celtics last season, then signed a one-year, $10 million free-agent contract with Sacramento.
Kings center DeMarcus Cousins grabbed Rondo after the guard tried to get at Kennedy after his ejection, possibly saving his ejection. The move was Cousins' best of the contest, on a night he scored only 16 points on 4-for-17 shooting.
Guard Avery Bradley and forward Jae Crowder each scored 20 points for the Celtics, and Boston held Sacramento to a season-low scoring output in the first half.
Forward Rudy Gay scored 18 points to pace the Kings, who were without forward Omri Casspi, the team's best 3-point shooter (45 percent) did not play because of a bout with gastroenteritis.
Bradley hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start the third quarter as the Celtics used a 12-2 run to go up 69-46 with 6:58 left. Rondo was ejected a short time later, and the game never was close.
NOTES: The contest marked the second consecutive season a game was played at Mexico City Arena. The Houston Rockets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 113-101 at the arena on Nov. 12, 2014. ... Celtics coach Brad Stevens said before the game that G Marcus Smart's left knee injury will keep him out at least another few weeks. Stevens said a return in three weeks might be optimistic. ... The Kings are 6-5 in the 11 games they played on U.S. soil with C DeMarcus Cousins, outscoring opponents by an average of 107-103. In eight games without him, they were outscored by an average of 112-106. ... The Kings had not held an opponent below 100 points in consecutive games since holding the 61-loss Los Angeles Lakers to 92 and 99, respectively in the final two games last season. ... Boston forced 19 turnovers per game entering the contest, the best figure in the NBA.