After turmoil, redemption for Allen

By Gary Dzen

June 18, 2008

3 minutes to read

One after another. Rhythm, release, splash. Nothing but net.

Ray Allen tied an NBA Finals record with 7 3-pointers in Game 6 against the Los Angeles Lakers, each dagger a tug of the rope raising Boston’s 17th NBA championship banner to the rafters at the TD Banknorth Garden. When it was all said and done, Allen joined Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Doc Rivers in a group hug celebrating the accomplishments of the Big Three on the sideline.

“We just [said] we loved each other,” said Rivers. “They all said, ‘Thank you,’ and I said ‘Thank you’, back.”

Rivers had to be thankful Allen was able to make the game at all. The shooting guard left the team shortly after the loss to the Lakers in Game 5 to attend to a medical situation with one of his children. He stayed in Los Angeles overnight to be with his family, arriving in Boston around 7 or 8 a.m. Tuesday morning, according to Rivers.

Allen is routinely the first Celtic on the floor before games, but he didn’t step onto the parquet to do his pregame shooting until 5:50 p.m. With very little rest and matters off the court on his mind, Allen was seen muttering a few encouraging words to himself as the teams lined up during the national anthem.

“We were thinking about it before [Tuesday] morning, just how much [sleep] he’s probably had,” Rivers said before the game. “It can’t be much. But he’s ready. You can see it.”

Rivers couldn’t have been more prescient. Allen scored the first 5 points of the game for the Celtics, getting Boston on the board with his first 3-pointer at the 10:18 mark in the first quarter. A pair of three throws on the next possession gave the Celtics their first lead.

But the resilient Allen was hit with another roadblock early in the game. With 4:20 left in the first, Allen was poked in the eye and sustained a cut on his nose. He tried to stay in the game, but he was eventually subbed for by James Posey and had to be taken back to the locker room. After receiving treatment, Allen returned to the game with 4:44 remaining in the first half but went scoreless before halftime.

But boy did Allen get it going to again in the second half. He hit his second 3-pointer of the game just over a minute into the second half, then hit another five minutes later. But the fourth quarter is where he really found his groove. Allen hit four treys in an eight-minute span to start the fourth. He finished with 26 points.

Allen’s performance in the Finals had to be particularly encouraging after a terrible start to the postseason. The low point came when he averaged 9.3 points against Cleveland in the conference semifinals, shooting a dismal 16-percent from beyond the arc. He raised those numbers to 19.2 points and 46 percent in the Finals, and would have garnered serious consideration for MVP without the standout play of Paul Pierce.

“I just stayed in my preparation,” said Allen. “I didn’t change one thing I did. I know teams were trying to take me out of the offense, but I wanted to make sure that I did everything to make this team better.”

Allen got to hold the Larry O’Brien Trophy on the podium. But even after the biggest win of his life, Allen didn’t forget his priorities, holding his young son in his arms while his teammates celebrated. After a weekend of turmoil both personally and professionally, the shooting guard finally had a chance to take it all in.

“It’s such a wonderful feeling to be able to do this on this night with all the stuff that has taken place over the weekend,” said Allen. “And to be able to share this with the fans in Boston has been great.”