Hot & Cold: Ray Allen

After earning the record for the most three- pointers made in an NBA Finals game by hitting 8 from beyond the arc in hostile territory in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, Ray Allen, the Boston Celtics sharpshooter, found himself on the other side of the spectrum at home as he fired blanks in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

Allen, who owns one of the finest shooting strokes in basketball, did not find himself at home at the TD Garden, their home court in Boston, as he clanked his shots over and over again as he finished 0 out of 13 from the field, one miss shy of the NBA Finals worst shooting record and scored just two points in pivotal Game 3 against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Thus, the Lakers regained their home court advantage they had lost in Game 2 and put the pressure on the Celtics to win the next two games at home and avoid themselves from digging a huge hole that they may not be able to recover from.

What a turn-around from the league’s best pure shooter after a night of accolades and fanfare, his world turned upside down in what many characterized as a shooter’s worst nightmare- he just could not buy a bucket.

And we can only commiserate with the soft- spoken Ray Allen on his Game 3 debacle on the hardwood but knowing him and his mentality that if given a slight opening in a Game 4, he will not hesitate to shoot.