While Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal have, reportedly, patched up their differences, there is still a lingering rivalry there that can't be denied. The Lakers are the best team in the West, but the Suns have plenty of talent to make this a competitive regular season battle.

Maybe it was some encouraging words from Doc Rivers. Perhaps it was some harsh ones from Gary Payton.

Whatever the case, Rajon Rondo is playing some of the best basketball of his career.

Boston's point guard had his first triple-double in the Celtics' 114-96 victory over Indiana on Wednesday, finishing with 16 points, 13 rebounds and a career-high 17 assists. That came two nights after a 16-point, 12-assist performance in a rout of Orlando.

The 6-foot-1 Rondo is one of the NBA's quickest players, and he has good rebounding instincts for someone his size. But his coach thinks the recent strong play isn't about those physical gifts.

Only in his third season, Rondo is considered one of the weak links on a Boston team that features perennial All-Stars Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. That's how Payton seems to feel, comparing Rondo to players who ride superstars to championship rings while doing little more than waving towels from the bench.

"I respect the man's game, I'm just saying, man, he got put into a situation," Payton said last month while serving as a studio analyst on NBA

TV. ...

Trivia question: Who was the highest-scoring guard for the Western Conference in last season's All-Star game?

Kobe Bryant? Not even close. He played only a few minutes because of injury and was scoreless.

How about Allen Iverson, also a two-time All-Star MVP? Nope, only seven points for the Answer.

If you forgot that Brandon Roy scored 18 points, don't feel bad. Sometimes it's not easy to remember that the Roy was even in New Orleans.

Not to the Portland Trail Blazers, though. They know they have a star, even if the rest of the country doesn't.

"We don't under-appreciate him. We know that he's an All-Star," Portland coach Nate McMillan said.

Roy was picked as a reserve last season largely on the strength of Portland's surprising 13-game winning streak in December, which earned him a pair of player of the week honors. He proved he belonged with the league's best, grabbing nine rebounds to go with his 18 points that tied forwards Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire for the West high ...

Already successful on the court, the NBA also reports things going well online.

The league had a strong start to the holidays, with a 72 percent increase from last year in online sales over the first four days of the traditional shopping season.

NBAstore.com shattered its previous sales records, doubling last year's total on Black Friday and experiencing a 28 percent increase on Cyber Monday.

Chris Paul jerseys and Boston Celtics merchandise were the top sellers for the league, which also had a record Black Friday at its NBA Store in New York.