Allen’s shot lifts Sonics

ATLANTA – Twice before in this short NBA season, Ray Allen had a chance to perform last-second heroics only to have his long-distance shots sail wide and roll out of the rim.

With the Sonics trailing by one in the final seconds against much-improved Atlanta on Saturday night, Allen resisted the temptation to launch one of his trademark 3-pointers.

Instead, he drove into the teeth of the defense where he lofted a game-winning, left-handed layup over Josh Smith to secure Seattle’s 113-112 overtime victory.

After losing in the final seconds at Miami and Orlando on this five-game road trip, it’s apparent nothing ever comes easy to these Sonics, who had to wait 2.1 seconds to learn their fate Saturday.

When Joe Johnson’s 3-point shot for Atlanta, which was contested by Damien Wilkins and Rashard Lewis, bounced hard off the glass and rattled off the rim, the Sonics were able to breathe easy.

“We could be sitting in this locker room one way or the other,” Allen said. “We could be disappointed like we were in Miami or Orlando. It’s a difference of one shot. “When you win, you got to cherish it and when you lose, you got to work on getting better and you can never carry your head low because Joe Johnson could have hit that last shot for them.”

Lately, the Sonics have gone away from Allen in the clutch and turned to Lewis and the supporting cast. In the Miami defeat, Allen was a decoy as Wilkins got the ball in the final seconds. Against Orlando, Lewis had the game in his hands in the end.

Coach Bob Hill said he didn’t lose confidence in Allen, but was reacting to the defense. Still, he pushed Allen to restrain from relying on the long ball and attack the rim.

Against Atlanta, Allen was relentless as he scored many of his game-high 33 inside.

“The rack was open all night for me,” said Allen. “There was a couple of times I shot it where I could have got to the hole. This particular play (the game-winner), these are the type of defensive rotations that we’ll see and I just found a gap and went for it.”

With 1:34 remaining in regulation, Allen connected on a similar layup that gave Seattle a 101-99 lead. However, Atlanta’s Josh Childress forced overtime when he drained a putback.

Lewis finished with 23 points for Seattle.