	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NBA ALL-STAR WEEKEND

February 17, 2008

Ray Allen

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

Q. Can you talk about the fourth quarter getting hot and how you felt out there towards then?
RAY ALLEN: I was supposed to be in the Bahamas this weekend.
It got to a point where they went on a run and they went up two. Actually when they got within seven, I looked at the bench and I said now it's a ballgame. And Doc looked at me and said, What do you want to do? I said, If you need me, I'm ready to go. So by the time we tied up, he put me back in the game.
The pace of the game was so fun out there. Chris was pushing it, J. Kidd was pushing it. We stayed spaced. And I knew I was going to get some good shots off. It was just a matter of whether or not I made them. But I was feeling good out there.

Q. Still haven't lost against the Western Conference yet?
RAY ALLEN: No. And it's funny, because in the locker room the East was talking about how bad the West beat them last year, and they said we're not going to have that anymore. And I said yeah, we did beat you guys pretty bad. So Kevin and I were both in the locker room last year.

Q. You've played in more than one All-Star Game, how would you rank this game for you personally and in general the whole atmosphere?
RAY ALLEN: Well, I'd have to say that coming into this weekend I thought about the last couple All-Star Games, this was probably for me the most relaxed, the easiest to participate in. It was fun. I think we had the day of service where we went to the school and painted the school, you know, helped with the people over there. They're doing such great work with the kids and the volunteers from all over the world, so it was great to be a part of that. Great to help out.
New Orleans, they put on a great show. And then the game, you guys seen the game. The game was definitely one of the more fun games I've participated in. So overall, I would have to say it's probably been my best All-Star Game so far.

Q. You've been in enough All-Star Games to know it starts out as a show, but towards the fourth quarter it starts to become intense, guys get a lot more physical. Talk about how that whole transition starts.
RAY ALLEN: In the beginning it's like a honeymoon. Everybody's trying to show off their shoes. Carmelo had a pair of shoes on, he took them off, put another pair on. I don't know if you guys saw that, but I was telling on him just then.
And then, you throw the Alley-oops, everybody's getting back, everybody gets that second wind in them. And by the fourth quarter, everybody's here for a reason. Everybody has that same competitive nature, it kicks in and you want to win the game.

Q. Is it almost like a playoff game in that respect towards the end of that where everybody is so competitive?
RAY ALLEN: Most definitely. Because at no point during the game did we ask what we were doing on defense, we just played defense. And there were spurts where we didn't play defense, but in that fourth quarter, the last three, four minutes, we start talking about defensive coverage, because in All-Star Games there's not really a lot of defense. But at that point we started talking about what we were going to do in huddling in and coming out of the timeout on the floor. We had our assignments what exactly we were going to do.

Q. In the fourth quarter Doc also looked like he went to a small lineup, sort of the way you guys do normally. Did that familiarity sort of help you get into that?
RAY ALLEN: Yeah, there was that stretch where myself and Paul were out on the floor. I think it was the end of the third. And we set a tempo. We took the lead at maybe 13, 14, penetrated, got some shots on the perimeter. We had a nice little chemistry going where the ball was moving around the floor.
Then going to the fourth, yeah, we went small. I was coming in for Rip, and then Dwyane came in, and we knew what it was. It was like, let's get the ball off the floor, let's beat them back. We're going to get a lot of long shots. But one thing Doc said was, Make sure you guys rebounds because Tim was in the game, Dirk was in the game, they had a big lineup. At this time we were with a small lineup.

Q. Can you talk about having a career All-Star high tonight? And for a second did you think you were in the running for MVP?
RAY ALLEN: I didn't think about it. I didn't even know how many points I had until I did the interview afterwards. Those points add up most definitely. I told my family before when I left the hotel room today, I told them that this is my eighth All-Star Game. They're so proud of me, they're happy for me to be here. I told them, I know you guys want to see me in the game, and you want to be excited about me.
But, you know, Doc and I talked. I said, If you need to play me, play me. But don't worry about me being on the bench. Because I'm not going to be mad at you if you don't play me. We're on the same team. So there was a point where when I started rolling, I was happier for them than I was for myself, thinking about myself and what might be the consequences of how I was playing. Because I know they were excited that I was playing well, and I could hear them cheering in the crowd.
A lot of times that's what pushes me when I come to the All-Star Game, they're so proud, and wearing my jersey. And people supporting me watching TV. It feels good to play good and play well for them out on the floor.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297