""I was definitely hyped," Allen told ESPN. "I had Paul Pierce in my ear telling me, 'Get ready! You stick me every day [in practice]. You should be ready. Let's go! That's Kobe Bryant!'" The No. 25 pick in the 2004 draft was trying to soak everything in and get himself in the right frame of mind for the 54th game of his young NBA career."
""I'm trying to be tough and telling myself, 'I'm not scared,'" Allen said. Meanwhile, he was drenched in sweat, his palms and underarms sweating so profusely he had to change his warm-up shirt. When Allen finally got on the floor against Bryant, he realized what he was up against. "I'm out there [guarding him] and I'm like, 'What am I going to do?'" Allen said."
Tony Allen, the No. 25 pick in the 2004 draft, faced Kobe Bryant in his 54th NBA game as a 24-year-old rookie. He arrived hyped and received encouragement from teammate Paul Pierce. Allen attempted to remain tough but struggled physically, sweating through his warm-up and committing early fouls that sent Bryant to the free-throw line. He was benched in the first quarter, later returned late in the fourth, and confronted the difficulty of guarding Bryant in isolation. Allen acknowledged uncertainty on the court and the challenge of containing Bryant's scoring moves.
Read at ESPN.com
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