Jun 17, 2008 10:29 pm US/Eastern
Eye Poke Pulls Allen From First Half
BOSTON (AP) ―
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Ray Allen #20 of the Boston Celtics covers his eye in the first quarter while taking on the Los Angeles Lakers in Game Five of the 2008 NBA Finals on June 17, 2008 at TD Banknorth Garden in Boston.
Elsa/Getty Images
Ray Allen was in the Boston Celtics' starting lineup for Game 6 of the NBA finals on Tuesday night, but missed much of the first half after getting poked in the left eye.
Allen, who stayed in Los Angeles to tend to his sick child and flew overnight to make it to Boston in time for Game 6, had a scratch above his nose after getting raked in the face by Lamar Odom while making a layup with 4:30 left in the first quarter.
He went to the locker room with 4:20 left in the period and did not return for the start of the second. He ran out to the bench with 6:05 left in the half and went back into the game with 4:44 to go and Boston leading 43-31.
Coach Doc Rivers went to Allen when he returned to the bench, rubbed him on the head and said something that made Allen smile. Allen sat on the bench and appeared to be blinking before going back in the game.
The Celtics started their usual five despite Allen's delayed return and the shoulder injury that kept center Kendrick Perkins out of Game 5. The Lakers won to force the finals back to Boston, where the Celtics had two chances to take the best-of-seven series and earn their 17th NBA title.
Allen took an overnight flight to Boston after spending extra time with his youngest son, who underwent medical tests in the Los Angeles area after feeling ill.
"Oh, yeah, I'm starting him," Rivers said with a laugh before the game about his shooting guard. "No doubt. Starting Perk, starting Ray and everyone else."
Perkins was the last Celtics starter to leave the locker room before Game 6 against the Lakers.
Allen was second on the team in scoring and rebounding as the Celtics took a 3-2 lead in the series. The other starters were Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo.
Rivers said he talked briefly with Allen, who skipped Tuesday morning's shootaround.
"I said, `How you doing?' I didn't even ask him about basketball, honestly," Rivers said. "I just asked him how he was doing. He said he's fine. That's all I needed to know."
The Celtics gave no details of the child's condition at Allen's request.
"Ray is doing good. I mean, he's going to be fine," Rivers said. "Obviously, he's not had a lot of sleep over the last three days, probably. ... We were thinking about it before this morning, just how much he's probably had. It can't be much. But he's ready. You can see it, he's ready to play."
The 280-pound Perkins participated in the shootaround after missing the Lakers' 103-98 Game 5 win Sunday night.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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