Sonics set to begin tough road trip

Seattle visits the struggling Indiana Pacers on Monday at Conseco Fieldhouse in the opener of the road trip. It is the second and final meeting of the season between the clubs. All-Star Ray Allen poured in 25 points and added six rebounds and three steals, as the SuperSonics defeated the Pacers, 107-102, on December 4th at KeyArena.

Seattle has won three in a row and six of the its 10 meetings with the Pacers. The SuperSonics have won four of their last seven at Indiana.

The Sonics try to get back on the winning track against the Pacers. On Saturday, Pau Gasol ended with 22 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the SuperSonics, 100-96, at KeyArena.

Allen scored 28 points in the loss to Memphis for the Sonics, who have dropped two of three and four of their last six games overall. Rashard Lewis contributed 19 points in defeat.

Forward Danny Fortson (suspension) is eligible to return on Monday for the Sonics. He was suspended two games without pay by the NBA for verbally abusing a game official and failure to leave the court in a timely manner following an ejection. Fortson was assessed a technical foul for throwing an elbow and was ejected for his confrontation with the official with 7:13 left in a 108-95 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves last Wednesday at the Target Center.

The Sonics are 5-7 on the road this season. They will also visit Chicago, New York, Detroit and Philadelphia on their current swing.

Allen leads the Sonics in scoring (24.8 ppg). He has scored in double-digits in all 29 of Seattle’s games and has netted 20 or more points 20 times this season.

Seattle is 9-14 when it allows 100 or points this season.