The Milwaukee Bucks suffered a setback in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals when guard Ray Allen injured his left knee in the third quarter.
With 4:56 left in the quarter, Allen was heading for the basket when he collided with Eric Snow of the Philadelphia 76ers. He was helped to the bench while complaining of knee pain and was soon taken to the locker room.
Allen was called for an offensive foul against Snow for their run-in, though Allen blamed Snow for the accident. Allen returned to the bench with about one minute remaining in the third quarter. He played again in the fourth quarter.
Allen averaged 27.3 points in the series, with a career playoff high 41 points in the Bucks’ Game 6 win over the 76ers. George Karl, coach of the Bucks, did not blame Allen’s absence for the team’s loss. “I wish we didn’t have the Ray Allen [and Scott Williams] situation[s], but those are excuses,” Karl said. “When the heat was turned up defensively, we didn’t make basketball plays.”
Bucks trainers classified his injury as a contusion.