BOSTON – Ray Allen lost the shooting touch that made history two days earlier.

One of the NBA’s most reliable outside scorers took 13 shots from the field Tuesday night and missed every one of them. Not coincidentally, the Los Angeles Lakers won 91-84 to take a 2-1 lead in the NBA finals over the Boston Celtics.

The worst playoff shooting performance by any player in at least 18 years was an amazing turnaround from Sunday’s 103-94 Boston victory, when Allen made his first seven 3-point shots, finished with a finals-record eight and scored 32 points.

On Tuesday, he was 0 of 8 from beyond the arc.

His last attempt came with 57 seconds to play and Los Angeles leading 84-80. Holding the ball in the left corner behind the 3-point line, he launched a high shot. He watched as it headed toward the basket, but like all his other shots, it clanged off the rim.

The Lakers got the ball and moments later Derek Fisher, victimized often by Allen on Sunday night, sank a layup for an 86-80 lead.

If there was one consolation for Allen (and there probably wasn’t), he fell short of setting another record. Two players were 0 of 14 in finals games: Chuck Reiser for Baltimore at Philadelphia in 1948 and Dennis Johnson for Seattle against Washington in 1978.

Before Tuesday, Allen’s poorest shooting game in regular or postseason play was 0 of 9 against Memphis on Jan. 4, 2008. And since 1991-92, no player has done worse than 0 of 10 in a playoff game. Patrick Ewing did that on May 28, 1994, against Indiana, and Charles Barkley matched that on May 13, 1995, against Houston.

Paul Pierce was better than Allen on Tuesday night, but not by a whole lot.

He made only two of his first nine shots and was 4 of 11 before making a meaningless layup for the last basket of the game with 5.1 seconds remaining. On Sunday, Pierce was even worse, scoring 10 points while missing nine of 11 shots.

The cold shooting of Allen and Pierce overshadowed a major reversal by Kevin Garnett from Game 2, a positive one. Garnett scored the first six points of the game, matching his total for Sunday night, and finished with 25.

 

THE LEAGUE and several playing legends will be in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston today to dedicate a renovated community center that will provide members of the Boston Centers for Youth and Families with a safe place to play and learn.

Current and former Celtics players, including John Havlicek and Glen “Big Baby” Davis, along with Hall of Famers Julius Erving and Bob Lanier will be on hand to cut the ribbon. Mayor Tom Menino, Commissioner David Stern, and Celtics owners Wyc Grousbeck and Steve Pagliuca will also be there.

 

CROSS-COUNTRY flights. A three-hour time change. And then a critical Game 3 of the NBA finals.

Boston Coach Doc Rivers dealt with the quick turnaround between the Celtics’ 103-94 win on Sunday night that tied the series 1-1 and Tuesday night’s game by giving his players time to rest after arriving Monday.

“I told them to go home and get some sleep,” he said. “This turnaround is a tough turnaround for everybody.”

 

Copy the Story Link