Ray Allen, Ray Allen, Ray Allen

Yes, I'm a little late in posting this, but you knew it was coming eventually. In game 6 of their series against the Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtic's shooting guard Ray Allen exploded for a career playoff high 51 points. Here's his stat line from the night:

Boston

Starters

Min

FG

3Pt

FT

+/-

Off

Reb

Ast

TO

Stl

BS

BA

PF

Pts

R. Allen

G

58:44

18-32

9-18

6-7

+1

2

5

3

3

3

0

0

1

51

I mentioned when we gave him the Shooter of the Month award that Ray is a perfectionist and this was clearly evident in the post-game press conference. I was in the gym that afternoon so caught it on SportsCenter. Despite his fantastic performance, after his team lost, Ray was only thinking about the shots that he missed and the ones that got away.

Ray Allen brilliant in defeat - BostonHerald.com
But laments points lost in razor-thin showdown

By Steve Bulpett / Celtics Beat
Friday, May 1, 2009

CHICAGO - Ray Allen scored 51 points in 59 minutes of a 68-minute game. There are few words that can adequately describe how brilliant his performance was, how he found ways at the most critical times to beat a defense bent on stopping him.

Were basketball an individual game, he would have been smiling as he walked down the United Center hallway in his fine suit. But the numbers that truly matter - 128 for the Bulls, 127 for the Celtics - eclipsed Ray’s ray of sunshine.

After scoring his career playoff high, Allen was left to think about the ones that got away.

“After the game, I was thinking about the plays I missed,” he said. “When you are on the losing end, that’s what you remember.”

Allen came out firing, with nine points in the first quarter and 20 in the second. The strategy looked more than sound. If Ben Gordon was going to be suffering through a hamstring problem, then make him really suffer by going right at him.