Notebook | Child's birth overdue, so Allen might skip trip

After Tuesday's 102-94 victory against New Orleans, Ray Allen was unsure if he would accompany the team for today's flight to Denver and was unsure if he will play in Thursday's game.

Allen's fiancée, Shannon, is expecting their second child. Her due date was Dec. 25. The Sonics guard said she may need to undergo a Cesarean section today and if so, he would miss the flight and may skip the game.

"I really don't have all the details right now," Allen said. "I'll go home and talk to her and see what she says. Whatever she says, we'll go with that. Family is my first priority. It's the most important thing and I'm going to be there for that."

Allen said he hadn't spoken with Sonics coach Bob Hill or general manager Rick Sund because he wanted to get as much information as he could.

Although he is eager to get a glimpse at the new-look Nuggets, who acquired guard Allen Iverson last week, Allen has more pressing matters.

"I'm real excited about the baby coming," he said. "We're on baby watch now so everything is kind of heightened. You just never know when it could happen."

Already missing Rashard Lewis, out with a right hand injury, the Sonics may also lose their All-Star guard. Seattle has not played without its two leading scorers this season.

Lewis says waiting is the hardest part

Lewis' first major surgery went off without a hitch, the Sonics forward said. But now comes the difficult part.

"Just sitting and waiting to heal is going to be hard," he said, addressing the media for the first time since surgery Friday to repair a strained tendon sheath in his right hand. "You kind of feel like a loner, but I'm here to support the guys."

Lewis, who is expected to miss from six to eight weeks, cleared up confusion about the origin of his injury.

During Wednesday's 103-95 defeat to Dallas, he attempted to block Erick Dampier's shot early in first quarter. As Lewis elevated, he banged his right hand on the center's elbow.

"When I came down, it just felt funny and I [saw] all of my knuckles except for this one," he said pointing to the middle knuckle. "It was missing. Every time I would try to make a fist, it would shift over to the side. Then when I would open my hand, it would click back. I knew something was wrong with it so I told coach to pull me out."

After a conversation with general manager Rick Sund, Lewis, who is eligible for a two-year, $25 million extension and has the option of becoming a free agent this summer if he voids the final two years of his contract, doesn't believe his injury will affect potential contract talks.

"He just told me that he thought it was best for me to have the surgery," Lewis said. "We didn't really talk about basketball a lot, contract or any trade. He didn't even bring that up so from my point of view, from talking to him, it's looking like we're still on the same page. I would hope that he would come and tell me before something does happen.

"But I'm pretty confident that I'm going to be a Sonic for a while."

He wants to travel with the Sonics for trips, but will not accompany the team on this week's trip to Denver and Minnesota because he's having his stitches removed Friday.

Note

• A snowstorm is expected to hit Denver, which could affect the Sonics' travel plans. The team is scheduled to fly to Denver today for Thursday's game against the Nuggets.

• The Sonics provided 500 tickets to employees from local utility companies who worked to restore power across the region following the Dec. 14 storm.

• Allen scored his 16,000th career point during the fourth quarter.