Allen will be making his ninth appearance, second with the Celtics, and he expressed his appreciation prior to last night's 110-109 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at TD Banknorth Garden.

``I'm elated, I'm ecstatic,'' said Allen, who scored 22 points last night. ``Nine times for me. When I think about where I came from and all the things I wanted to do in my career in a team game and to be recognized as one of the best nine times, for me, I'm always overjoyed. To be considered one of the elite in this game is always an honor and I always consider my time in this league a privilege. I'm glad to represent this franchise because it is one of the best.''

Allen will join starter Kevin Garnett and reserve forward Paul Pierce. Joining Garnett and Pierce is particularly rewarding for Allen because they have accomplished much in their short tenure in Boston.

``I was so happy for them and now to be there along side them is even a better joy,'' said Allen. ``We'll talk about this moment for the rest of our lives, like we talk about the great situation we all had here last year. This is what we have, the experiences, the memories and the times spent together and we've had a lot of them. That's how we as teammates bond and for me to do this with them is an even greater bond.''

Allen believes nothing is diminished in being a replacement player. He was an injury replacement last year for Caron Butler and made the most of that opportunity for East coach Doc Rivers. Allen led the East in scoring with 28 points with five 3-pointers in 18 minutes off the bench.

``If injury replacement gets you 28 points in the All-Star Game, they can treat me like that every year,'' said Allen. ``The one variable that has changed is Doc is not the coach this year so I might be sitting on the bench in this one.''

Allen was the obvious choice to replace Butler and Nelson on those respective East teams, but he admitted being on pins and needles awaiting both decisions. Allen treats the All-Star Game as if nobody is entitled to a roster spot.

Allen wasn't sure if his heroics in Tuesday night's 100-99 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wachovia Center opened the door. He coolly sank a 23-footer on the baseline with 0.5 seconds to play that extended the Celtics win streak to 12.

``The decision could have been made before that, you never know,'' he said. ``It was a big shot, we needed that shot and we wanted to win that game. It definitely didn't hurt.''

Allen does not command the go-to-guy label in Boston like he did in his years with Milwaukee and Seattle, but he has become more selective and efficient in the ones he takes, the upcoming All-Star Game included.

- rthompson@bostonherald.com