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Allen sets record

Sonics guard Ray Allen shoots and makes his record-setting 268th 3-pointer of the season. He finished with 269. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Frank Hughes Tacoma News Tribune
Sonics guard Ray Allen shoots and makes his record-setting 268th 3-pointer of the season. He finished with 269. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

SEATTLE – With less than 5 minutes to play in the Seattle SuperSonics’ regular-season finale, Ray Allen sat on the team’s bench, the NBA single-season record for 3-pointers already in his possession. The Sonics were putting the finishing touches on a 109-98 victory before 16,746 fans at KeyArena, improving their record to 35-47.

But the crowd was restless. It came to see Allen, who was finishing up the best season of his career. A chant started lightly, in one section, but then it grew louder, spreading through the venue, until it became thunderous.

“We want Ray,” the fans yelled in unison.

“We want Ray,” they pleaded.

“We want Ray,” they cajoled, leaving Allen to turn his head to teammates along the bench in embarrassment.

If nothing else, coach Bob Hill knows to play to the crowd. So he stood up from his chair, looked down the length of the bench at his best player and threw his arms out, wordlessly asking, “Do you want to go in?”

The crowd sensed the moment, the applause growing, reaching a deep crescendo when Allen got out of his chair, ran down the sideline and started to peel off his warm-ups.

He didn’t even know who he was going in for, only that he was going back in.

If Allen wanted to leave a lasting impression for the summer, as he spoke about so eloquently after Tuesday night’s debacle in Sacramento, he certainly accomplished that goal.

Needing five 3s to tie Dennis Scott’s record of 267 in a season and six to capture the record outright, Allen, as he has done so many times before, rose to the challenge of a premier athlete, performing his best when the pressure was the most intense.

“I can think about many nights in my career, and yeah, I have hit shots to win games,” Allen said. “But nothing felt like this tonight. Tonight was special. It was not just for me but everybody else. To be able to share like that, it was wonderful.”

Before many fans arrived at the arena, Allen drained two 3s. Before the end of the first quarter, he had tied Scott, raising his hand with all five fingers extended as he retreated downcourt.

Before the midway point of the second quarter, Allen had his sixth 3 and the record, which is more impressive since Scott’s achievement came when the 3-point line was almost 2 feet closer to the basket.

Allen finished the evening with seven 3-pointers on 13 attempts, setting the mark of 269. He ended the game with 27 points in 26 minutes and ended the season with a 25-point average, a career high.