Celtics' Rondo Hosts Boston Charity Classic at Lavietes

On Saturday evening, the stars were out at Lavietes Pavilion.

While the Harvard men's basketball team was in Los Angeles, Calif., beating up on Loyola Marymount, it was a group of NBA players—including Paul Pierce (making a fashionably late appearance in the first quarter), Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, Josh Smith, and Rudy Gay—which took to the court and dazzled a sold-out crowd of over 2,000 to benefit local charities SPIN (Serving People In Need), Sojourner House, and Crossroads Family Shelter.

Just days after the players union chose to dissolve itself—putting the 2011-2012 NBA season in doubt—the myriad highlight-reel dunks and long-distance bombs served as a small reminder of what fans would be missing through the upcoming long winter months.

Though his dunks may not have been as thunderous as those of his bouncy teammates, local favorite Jeremy Lin '10 bounced back from a couple early missed layups to nail five deep treys in the third quarter alone, much to the delight of the audience, which included Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. Lin is reportedly in the final stages of signing with an Italian basketball team.

Little defense was played, one foul was called the entire night—much to the incredulity of everyone in the arena—and scorekeeping was suspect, but ultimately, the White team of Kyle Lowry, Marquis Daniels, Jeff Green, Leon Powe, Nate Robinson, and Pierce fell to the Green team of Lin, JaJuan Johnson, Gay, Smith, Perkins, and Rondo by the score of 145-142.

Green said after the game that it was his eighth appearance in a charity game this year. By the looks of it, he'll likely have the opportunity to play in many more.