• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Back from injury, Allen leads Sonics over Raptors

Dec 24, 2006 - 7:34 AM SEATTLE (Ticker) -- After losing one star, the Seattle SuperSonics benefited from the return of another top player.

In his return from an ankle injury, Ray Allen scored 28 points and Luke Ridnour had 18 points and six assists as the SuperSonics snapped a six-game losing streak with a 110-97 win over the Toronto Raptors.

Nick Collison collected 15 points and eight rebounds for Seattle, which shot 51 percent (42-of-82) from the field to end its longest losing streak in nearly 18 years. The Sonics haven't dropped seven in a row since March 25-April 6, 1989.

"We made enough stops, and I think they were tired and that was it," Collison said. "It's huge (ending the six-game losing streak). There's nothing like winning."

On Friday, Seattle announced that forward Rashard Lewis needs surgery to repair a hand injury and will miss eight weeks. Lewis is averaging 21.9 points and 6.8 rebounds while shooting a team-best 40 percent from 3-point range in 27 games this season.

"With Rashard in our lineup we score a lot," Allen said. "You figure that between us, with him and I scoring 20-plus points a night, nobody's going to replace him. I'm not going to score the points that he's going to score so somebody else has to step up. Sometimes, it may be two or three guys."

While the Sonics missed Lewis, Allen, the team's leading scorer at 25.3 points per game, returned after missing nine games with a bruised ankle bone. In his first game back, the All-Star guard did not miss a beat, shooting 9-of-15 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the arc.

"I tried to do whatever I could to minimize my energy and get to my scoring opportunities as quickly as I could and stay efficient out there," Allen said. "I did get tired. In the fourth quarter, I got a little exhausted, but I tried to just hide it as best I could."

T.J. Ford had 24 points and nine assists for the Raptors, who shot 47 percent (40-of-86) and had their two-game winning streak snapped.