Wed Jun 18 01:56:14 2008

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Celtics G Allen leaves Game 6, but stars in return

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Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Boston Celtics guard Ray Allen left Tuesday's Game 6 of the NBA Finals in the first quarter after being poked in his left eye, but returned in the second and finished with one of the best shooting performances in championship history.

Allen tied a Finals record by hitting seven shots from beyond the arc, on the way to 26 points, as the Celtics won the championship with a 131-92 blowout of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Allen was driving from the right baseline to the basket and hit a layup, but on the way up he was hit in the eye by the Lakers' Lamar Odom. Allen went to his knees in pain under the basket after the layup with 4 1/2 minutes remaining in the quarter. He then jogged off the court to the locker room to be examined before coming back to the bench with 6:05 left in the half. He was reinserted in the game with 4:44 left in the half.

He finished the Finals with a record in three-pointers made with 22. He was 8-of-12 from the field, including 7-of-9 from three-point range Tuesday. It was part of Boston clinching its 17th championship and first since 1986.

"To finally win this and to prove we're the best team in the NBA this year, everything we went through was definitely worth it, and we know exactly what it takes to be the best," Allen said. "It's not easy, but to be the best you have to give up a lot, and we gave up a lot but we definitely took a lot along the way."

It's been a tough few days for Allen. He sat out the team's shootaround Tuesday following his overnight flight from Los Angeles. Allen stayed behind in Los Angeles on Monday because his toddler son had medical tests due to an unspecified illness. Allen disclosed after Tuesday's game that his son was diagnosed with diabetes.

"We got in this morning and we took him to the hospital, and he was lively, so I was relieved to see that he was moving around," Allen said. "This is something that is going to be a lifestyle change for all of us, but we made it through those first couple of days, and being educated on what exactly he has to go through."