Dec 15, 2012; San Antonio, TX, USA; Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo (9) drives to the basket past San Antonio Spurs forward Tiago Splitter (22) during the second half at the AT

Rajon Rondo has established himself as a top-five point guard in the NBA and had a sensational 2012. He had six triple-doubles in 2012, and those six games take feature among four others in his top games of 2012. Let’s look at Rondo’s ten best stat lines from 2012.

1) 18 pts, 20 asts, 17 rebounds — March 4th, 2012 vs New York Knicks

This game marked Rajon Rondo’s second triple-double in three games as the Celtics won their fourth straight over the New York Knicks 115-111 in overtime. Rondo had a hand in every C’s point in the extra period. This triple-double was the 17th of Rondo’s career, and he became the last player since Magic Johnson in 1989 to record a triple-double with at least 17 in each category.

”That’s the Rondo we like to see, playing with all that energy,” Paul Pierce said. ”He got the guys the ball in open spots; he did everything for us tonight. He rebounded, he passed, he got the clutch rebound there in overtime and got the layup. That’s the Rondo I like to see.”

2) 32 pts, 15 asts, 10 rebs — February 12th, 2012 vs Chicago Bulls

Though the Bulls were playing without Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo had a monster game and led the Celtics to a 95-91 victory. Rondo picked apart C.J. Watson and the Bulls D and had 28 points, nine assists and six rebounds entering the fourth quarter.

JuJuan Johnson said after the game Rondo is “the best point guard in the league, and he played great.”

3) 10 pts, 20 asts, 10 rebs — April 11th, 2012 vs Atlanta Hawks

Coming off an eight point win over the Heat one night prior, the Celtics were tired in this one. Dod Rivers called it “the worst game we’ve ever won.” Oh, by the way, Rajon Rondo had a triple-double.

“We kept fighting regardless of the other stuff out there. We stuck together, followed through, and got the win,” Rondo said. He played 87 of 101 minutes over the back-to-back games.

Hawks coach Larry Drew expressed dismay at the 88-86 OT loss. “It’s twice now we’ve played this Boston team and the game has come down to the final few seconds and we couldn’t make the plays.”

4) 35 pts, 6 rebs, 5 asts — February 15th, 2012 vs Detroit Pistons

This Rondo performance came in a 98-88 loss to the Detroit Pistons. The Celtics were playing without Kevin Garnett and started Jermaine O’Neal at center. This game came one game after Rondo recorded a triple double. But the Pistons were too much, and Greg Monroe had a big 22 point, nine rebound game that proved to be too much for the KG-less Celtics.

5) 20 pts, 10 asts, 9 rebs — November 12, 2012 vs Chicago Bulls

The C’s won this one 101-95 as Rondo fell just one rebound shy of a triple-double.

“We played pretty well offensively. Besides the turnovers I had, we took pretty good care of the ball, got out on the break, and kept it simple offensively,” Rondo said.

Doc Rivers was quick to praise Rondo too, saying he “had an excellent game (and) is starting to get comfortable with the players that are out there on the floor and what he can call with them there.”