Allen came alive for Sonics
SEATTLE – Ray Allen played about as well as he can in Seattle’s first-round playoff series win over Sacramento.
There was his 45-point effort in Game 4, his 32.4 scoring average in the five-game series and, fittingly, his swooping layup to seal the decisive victory with 12.8 seconds remaining and the Kings trailing by just two.
“Just one of those situations where I saw a lane and I took it,” said Allen, who will lead the SuperSonics in the second round against the winner of the San Antonio-Denver series.
Allen had it going Tuesday night despite facing constant double teams. His crossover dribble for a first-quarter layup put Kings center Brad Miller on the floor – a pair of so-called broken ankles for the big man.
When Sacramento opened the second half with a 19-3 surge to build a 76-66 lead, Allen gathered his teammates. The five-time All-Star was acting like a coach on the floor, urging the Sonics to focus on defense.
Allen will be a free agent after the season, and he’s making a strong case for the maximum contract he’s seeking. A few fans in the capacity crowd of 17,072 held signs reading, “Pay Ray.”
“That’s what an All-Star does. He takes the game into his hands,” Sacramento’s Bobby Jackson said of Allen.
Seattle came back patiently in the second half, and it wasn’t long before Allen struck. After Nick Collison’s three-point play and layup, Allen added a jumper and 3-pointer with 7:31 to play that put the Sonics up 102-97.
“He’s played great this entire series,” Seattle coach Nate McMillan said of Allen. “Some of the shots he’s made in the last couple of games have been unbelievable.”
The fast-breaking Kings wouldn’t go quietly, though. Peja Stojakovic scored 38 points and Mike Bibby had 35 points and 10 assists. Good thing for Seattle that everybody chipped in.
Rashard Lewis, the Sonics’ other All-Star, mastered the double teams he faced in the series and finished with 24 points – 10 in the final period. He had seven straight over one late stretch, putting Seattle up 113-104 on a 3-pointer with 3:28 remaining.
“I felt comfortable coming into this game,” Lewis said. “It was time for me to be more aggressive off the double-teams.”
Collison, a reserve forward, had 15 points and nine rebounds, Antonio Daniels scored 14 points, Jerome James added 11 points and six rebounds, and Reggie Evans and Luke Ridnour each scored 10.
Collison and Ridnour were drafted within two picks of each other two years ago, but they played like veterans in their first playoff series.
“They were poised,” McMillan said. “If they were nervous, you really couldn’t see it. I wanted to take the pressure off those guys, keep them aggressive. … They have a lot of experience playing big games in college, and it showed.”
The Sonics played Sacramento like a charged-up version of the surprising team that was the talk of the NBA back in November, when Seattle streaked to a 17-3 record to open the season.
While many wondered how the Sonics would improve on a 37-win season in 2003-04, Allen and his teammates knew better.
Seattle won 52 games, improving because the front office maintained a core unit that finally clicked.
“We’ve been playing for each other throughout the season,” Daniels said. “We haven’t worried about what others have said.”
Still, there were concerns as the regular season ended. Lewis was slowed by foot and knee injuries, and sharp-shooting forward Vladimir Radmanovic missed the last five weeks with a stress fracture in his right leg.
Without their usual rotation, the Sonics lost eight of their final 10 regular season games. But now they’re back at full strength, fluid on offense and tight on defense.
“They are obviously a better team,” Sacramento coach Rick Adelman said. “They played better than us during the series. We gave it a good effort, but they held us off. You have to give them credit. They have a good team and they’re playing well.”