Sixers Notes: Allen emerging as key reserve for Sixers

PORTLAND, Ore. - For Lavoy Allen, it was just a matter of being more aggressive.

The 76ers reserve big man scored in double digits in each of the two games before Saturday's matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Moga Center. The game ended too late for this edition.

"The few minutes I do get in there, I try to do whatever I can," said Allen, who averaged 18.9 minutes per game through Friday. "I try not to conserve any energy, just go all-out and leave it all on the floor."

That's exactly what the third-year veteran out of Temple has done.

In Wednesday's win over the Nuggets, Allen had 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists in 16 minutes, 19 seconds. The next night in a victory over the Kings, the 6-foot-9, 255-pounder scored 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting and had six rebounds before fouling out late in the game. Allen played 15:10.

That's a solid performance for someone who was averaging 5.3 points as of Friday.

Active around the basket, Allen has been getting timely rebounds and thriving on jump shots.

"He's just been solid," coach Brett Brown said. "I think his weight is down [around 10 pounds]. His mobility is up. There's a physical size of him that is different to our team when he can match up with a lot of positional, weight-type rebounds."

His size enabled him to bang down low with Sacramento's 6-11, 270-pound center, DeMarcus Cousins.

Early in the season, Allen was slow to bounce back from a left knee injury he suffered in the preseason.

"You know, coming into the season, I was worrying about my knee," he said. "So I got a little bit of a late start. But now, I don't really think about it."

Allen's newfound aggressiveness is transforming him into a key reserve for the Sixers.

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