Allen Finds Stroke When It Counts

LOS ANGELES, June 13 -- For most of this postseason, and especially in the second round against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Ray Allen struggled so much with his jump shot that some fans and reporters were pushing for his demotion from the Boston Celtics' Big Three. But the disappearance of Allen's jump shot is no longer a recurring theme, now that he has returned to form in the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Allen is averaging a team-high 20 points per game, shooting 52.1 percent from the floor (25 of 48) and 48 percent (12 of 25) from beyond the three-point line to help the Celtics take a 3-1 lead in this best-of-seven series. Allen played all 48 minutes and scored 19 points in Game 4 on Thursday, putting his team within one victory of its 17th championship. He was especially effective in the fourth quarter, when he made a difficult reverse layup and clinched the win by blowing past Sasha Vujacic and Pau Gasol for a left-handed layup.

"It's difficult for a great player to struggle at all, and especially to struggle on a big stage and hear about that he doesn't have it and all that," Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said. "I just kept telling Ray: 'Just do what the team needs and don't try to get yourself off. Try to just keep making plays for the team, and it's going to come; it's going to happen, it's going to break for you.' And it did, and so I'm very happy for him."

Allen had the most difficult adjustment of the Celtics' all-star trio this season, as he moved from the top option in Seattle to the third option behind Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce after Boston's draft-day deal with the SuperSonics last summer. His scoring average dropped by nine points in the regular season.

"I think all year it's just been one of those seasons for me where I was just playing off of Paul and Kevin and just making sure I filled the gaps," Allen said. "As tough as it was, as frustrating as it was, I had to figure out ways to make plays for the team."

In the playoffs, Allen went into a serious shooting slump against the Cavaliers, as he averaged just 9.3 points and shot 32.8 percent; Rivers benched him for much of Game 7 of that series.

Allen finally found his shooting touch against the Detroit Pistons, scoring 29 points in Game 5, and he has been the Celtics' most consistent player in the Finals. He also has contributed to helping limit Kobe Bryant to just 43.2 percent shooting this series. "He's never been known as a defender," Rivers said. "He's been fantastic."

Perkins Is Questionable for Game 5

Kendrick Perkins, already playing on a sprained left ankle, strained his left shoulder in the second half of Game 4 and may not be available for Boston in Game 5 on Sunday. "That's clearly not looking great right now," Rivers said Friday. "The injury he had [Thursday] night could be significant."

Perkins's injury, point guard Rajon Rondo's bone bruise in his left ankle and Pierce's tweaked right knee got lost in the excitement over the Celtics' incredible comeback. The Celtics have played through injuries the entire series, and Pierce was hopeful that two days of rest would help.

Boston didn't practice Friday. "I'm feeling kind of sore," Pierce said. "These two days will be great for us to recuperate from our minor injuries and try to suck it up on Sunday and end this thing before things get worse."