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Lewis, Allen carry SuperSonics to third straight win

Feb 21, 2007 - 7:10 AM SEATTLE (Ticker) -- Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen had the touch going from outside.

Lewis scored 34 points and Allen added 27 points for the Seattle SuperSonics en route to a 121-105 victory over the struggling Memphis Grizzlies.

Chris Wilcox had 13 points and 15 rebounds and Nick Collison chipped in 10 and 14 for Seattle, which has won three straight games.

"I thought Nick was really special defensively and he got the double-double, and Chris got a double-double," Sonics coach Bob Hill said.

Lewis and Allen combined to made 24-of-45 shots, including 7-of-12 from 3-point range. It marked the best outings for the duo since Lewis returned from his hand injury.

"They didn't know whether to guard Rashard or me, so it made our offense a lot more efficient," Allen said. "Everybody played off that and everything worked out. We were firing on all cylinders."

"We didn't guard them at all," Grizzlies interim coach Tony Barone said. "We didn't defend them and that's a pretty simple answer."

Lewis has reached the 20-point plateau in three straight games for the first time since November 20-24.

"I'm almost all the way back," Lewis said. "I'm working on getting back to NBA speed."

The SuperSonics opened things up after intermission, using a 17-8 surge capped by Lewis' two-handed jam with just over six minutes left to make it 81-65.

Memphis (14-41) never was able to recover thereafter.

Mike Miller scored 20 points and rookie Rudy Gay added 19 for the Grizzlies, who shot 43 percent (39-of-89) from the field and committed 18 turnovers.

With Thursday's trading deadline looming, Memphis forward Pau Gasol is trying to focus on just playing basketball.

"I'm not even thinking about that," said Gasol, who had 17 points and 12 rebounds. "There is too much being said and too much has been going on. It's not even worth it for me to give it any more thought.

"If something happens it will, and if it doesn't, it won't. I try to play hard just like I do every game and try to help my team win."