Seattle ? Ray Allen scored 26 points and Vladimir Radmanovic added 18 points off the bench, leading the Seattle SuperSonics to a 108-91 victory over the struggling New Orleans Hornets on Tuesday night.
Playing in his second game since missing two contests with a bad case of the flu, Allen played 36 minutes and shot 11-for-17, including a 3-pointer. Radmanovic made four 3-pointers.
Luke Ridnour had 16 points and seven assists, first-time All-Star Rashard Lewis scored 10 on 4-for-13 shooting, and Reggie Evans pulled down 14 rebounds for the Sonics, who outrebounded the Hornets 41-28.
Casey Jacobsen led the Hornets with a career-best 21 points off the bench. Dan Dickau, former Gonzaga star, returned to his home state and had 17 for New Orleans on 6-for-20 shooting.
With their third straight victory and sixth in eight games, the Sonics (33-13) expanded their lead in the Northwest Division to 10 1/2 games.
The Hornets, who have the worst record in the NBA (8-40) and are now 2-25 on the road, lost their sixth in a row. They also have ad losing streaks of 11, 10 and eight games this season.
The Sonics led 26-22 after one quarter and 49-43 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Sonics hit five 3-pointers — two each by Ridnour and Radmanovic — to go ahead 79-64. Seattle led by 20 points twice in the final period.
The Sonics put their 19-year-old first-round draft choice, 7-footer Robert Smith, in with 2:48 left in the game. Smith had a free throw with 23.9 seconds to go.
Notes: Sonics coach Nate McMillan said he called five NBA coaches he was “comfortable” with to lobby for Lewis to become an All-Star. He said two coaches told him they had voted for Lewis and he left voice mails for the other three. “I didn’t beg,” McMillan said. “I just told them Rashard has done this season.” … McMillan returned to the bench after missing three games when he was in Raleigh, N.C., where his mother died.
