Philly’s Lavoy Allen tunes out talk, stands tall By Dan Duggan Sunday, May 20, 2012 - Added 11 hours ago http://tinyurl.com/86vyjh4 PHILADELPHIA — The soundtrack of Lavoy Allen’s Eastern Conference semifinals has been Kevin Garnett’s voice. The Celtics center is a constant fountain of talk on the court, whether it’s directed at himself, opponents or no one in particular. But Garnett seems to increase his output when facing an unproven player like Allen, a rookie second-round pick out of Temple. If Garnett discovers any vulnerability, he’ll pounce until he occupies a place in the young player’s head. But with Allen, a soft-spoken 23-year-old, Garnett’s commentary has fallen on deaf ears. “Even though people are yapping at him and saying all kinds of crazy stuff, he’s not listening to it. He’s just playing, ” teammate Thaddeus Young said. “That’s the good thing about Lavoy. He’s one of those guys who’s just going to go out there and play regardless and not listen to all the junk people are talking to him.” Allen’s response has come in the form of a series of bumps in the post with his 6-foot-8, 220-pound frame. While Garnett has had a monster series, averaging 20 points and 11.8 rebounds, Allen has proven to be the only Philadelphia big man capable of putting up a fight. For the series, Garnett is shooting 63 percent when Allen is on the bench, compared to 43 percent when Allen is on the floor. Allen played a career-high 33 minutes in Philly’s 92-83 Game 4 win on Friday, and Garnett scored just nine points on 3-of-12 shooting. “Just not letting him get too close to the basket to post up, ” Allen said of the key to guarding Garnett. “Hitting him early and pushing him off the block. When I’m out there that’ s my main goal, just to contain him.” The Sixers hold a 36-point advantage with Allen on the court in the series, which is tied heading into Game 5 at the Garden tomorrow. “He’s been huge for us. He’s definitely not shaken,” Young said. “He’s been big every game, holding his own in the paint.” Allen also has provided a spark offensively in the series, averaging 8.5 points on 53.6 percent shooting to go with 6.5 rebounds per game. He banked in a crucial shot to beat the shot-clock buzzer late in Philly’s 82-81 win in Game 2. In Game 4, he scored four of his eight points in the fourth quarter as the Sixers completed their comeback from an 18-point deficit. “He doesn’t back down,” forward Elton Brand said. “He was a starter for us for a while, didn’t play for a while, then was a starter again. He’s always been ready. It’s great to see him playing like this.” Allen was the 50th pick in last year’s draft and signed with a French professional team during the lockout. He joined the Sixers when the lockout ended, but didn’t crack the rotation for the first month of the season. There was little sign then that he would be filling such an important role in the playoffs. “Back then, I didn’t expect it,” Allen said. “But I’m just happy I’m at this point.” -— [email protected] --

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