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“That first half was the best half of basketball I’ve ever had.”-Looking back at Ray Allen’s career night with the Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks have had their ups and downs as a franchise, but a few players have etched their names in the team’s history. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Giannis Antetokounmpo can be considered the greatest to ever wear a Bucks uniform, given that they delivered a chip.
Ray Allen’s career night for the Bucks
After Abdul-Jabbar’s departure, the Bucks remained a lower-tier team for a long time. However, that trend started changing with Ray Allen’s arrival. He was picked by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1996 draft but got traded to the Bucks before beginning the season. He had a couple of seasons to settle in, after which his athleticism and skill earned him All-Star recognition during the 1999-00 season.
The following year he furthered his growth, enabling the Bucks to a 50-win season after around 14 years. His best performance for the Bucks came that year when he dropped 43 points against the Utah Jazz – shooting 60.9% from the field and 57.1% from deep. Allen was on fire that night, dropping 30 points in the first half.
“That first half was the best half of basketball I’ve ever had,” Allen told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel back then.
Allen’s stint with the Milwaukee Bucks
Although Allen could not deliver a chip to the Bucks franchise, he brought hope. He played six complete seasons for the franchise and took them to the playoffs in three of them. Allen was named an All-Star in three of those seasons, representing the team among the best players in the league.
Ray came close to helping the franchise reach the 2001 NBA finals, but the Philadelphia 76ers proved to be a problem. The Eastern Conference Finals against the 76ers was stretched out to seven games, during which Allen averaged 27.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 5.4 assists while shooting over 50% from beyond the arc. However, Allen Iverson stepped it up in Game 7 – with a 44-point night – as the Bucks fell 108-91, ending their best playoff run under Ray Allen.
