Celtics captain Paul Pierce stole the show during Ray Allen’s return to Seattle as he scored 26 of his 37points in the second half as Boston downed the Sonics, 104-96 in front of 17,072 at Key Arena on Thursday night.
Allen, who played four and a half seasons with Seattle was honored prior to the game for this commitment to the Seattle community, was given two standing ovation during introductions and a pregame presentation.
But while it was Allen’s night to be remembered by his former team and fans it was Pierce’s night on the court. In addition to the 37 points he had 6 rebounds and 4 assists shot 5 of 7 from 3 and was 10 of 11 from the line. Kevin Garnett had a double-double with 23 points and 14 rebounds and Allen, the final member of the Boston Three Party, chipped in 10 points while reserve guard Eddie House gave the Green 13 points off the bench.
The Sonics were led by rookie Kevin Durant who had 25 points, former Celtics Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak had 19 and 14 points respectively, off the bench.
The win, was the Celtics 24th on the season matching their total from all of last year, came on the back end of a back-to-back. It was the first wins on consecutive days in the pacific time zone for the Celtics since 1991.
Former UConn and current Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird took in the game along with NBA Hall of Famer George Gervin and Seattle Seahawks players Nate Burleson, Seneca Wallace, Julian Peterson and Rocky Bernard.
