Seattle stomps on Hornets

SEATTLE – Ray Allen of the Seattle SuperSonics is more excited about teammate Rashard Lewis’ first All-Star selection than he is over his fifth.

Allen scored 26 points and Vladimir Radmanovic added 18 points off the bench, leading the Sonics to a 108-91 victory over the struggling New Orleans Hornets on Tuesday night.

Allen jumped on Lewis’ back in congratulating him when he got the news at Tuesday morning’s shootaround.

“I was so excited for him,” he said. “I can contain my own enthusiasm for my own situation, but it’s great to see him the first time, which is the toughest time.”

Playing in his second game since missing two contests with a bad case of the flu, Allen played 36 minutes and shot 11 for 17, including a 3-pointer. Radmanovic made four 3-pointers.

Allen still isn’t 100 percent.

“I’m still sucking wind a little bit,” said Allen, who was coughing in the locker room after the game. “I was even worse yesterday. But I like the feeling because I feel like I’m really working and I’ve got to work extra hard.”

Luke Ridnour had 16 points and seven assists, Lewis scored 10 on 4-for-13 shooting, and Reggie Evans pulled down 14 rebounds for the Sonics, who outrebounded the Hornets 41-28.

Lewis reportedly got a $1 million bonus for making the All-Star game for the first time.

Allen said he wasn’t sure if Lewis would be chosen for the Feb. 20 game in Denver.

“I was nervous that he wasn’t going to make it,” he said. “We knew he played well enough to make it, but there are a lot of players in the league who are playing well, too.”

Casey Jacobsen led the Hornets with a career-best 21 points off the bench. Dan Dickau, former Gonzaga star, returned to his home state and had 17 for New Orleans on 6-for-20 shooting.

With their third straight victory and sixth in eight games, the Sonics expanded their lead in the Northwest Division to 10 1/2 games.