Ray Allen Capitalizes On Lax Pacers Defense With Superb Fourth Quarter

Ray Allen played a large part in allowing the Heat to break away from the Pacers Saturday night with four threes in the fourth quarter in a Game 3 win. Indiana's defense saw the three-point specialist as an afterthought, and he made them pay.

Allen's somewhat predictable in that he hangs out behind the arc, usually in either corner. At his age, he's basically turned into a single-purpose player, but one whose finely tuned jumper can damn teams if left alone. The Pacers were so worried about LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh—understandable concerns—that Allen wasn't a priority, which is fine. But Indiana didn't even apply the bare minimum of defense, which is how you get David West and Roy Hibbert swiping at Allen's shots one second too late.

In terms of threats on the Heat, the second-oldest player in the league who usually floats behind the arc isn't near the top of the list. Allen isn't going to drive or draw fouls often. But that's what can be so deadly about the Heat. Even though the Pacers antagonized James—who had six turnovers for the first time since March 31—he and Miami were able to shift their offense to other outlets. That's how we get LeBron running point and passing to Allen in transition, with the 38-year-old unleashing his compact, sharp shot as he's done so many times before, to make that deficit just a little more daunting.