For nearly ten years it has been Ray Allen versus Rip Hamilton. The two University of Connecticut standouts have gone hard at one another, so hard in fact that Allen wears a sleeve to protect his arm from Hamilton's swipes. But after Game 2 between the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls, a new UConn rivalry was born. On Monday night, it was Allen versus Ben Gordon.

 
“It's something a little extra and UConn has a lot of great professionals,” Gordon said after the game. “So anytime you play against someone from UConn, you just want to go out there and outdo them. It's like a game within the game.”
 
Outdo? That's an understatement. Allen and Gordon put on a spectacle.
 
Gordon exploded for a game-high 42 points off of 14-for-24 shooting by shaking off Allen, getting himself open, and hitting contested shots when necessary. However it was the veteran who got the bucket when it counted. Allen (30 points) drained a game-winning three with two seconds left.
 
“It was fun and it felt like we were at UConn in the summertime playing pick up,” said Gordon. “He is a great shooter and I knew he would break out eventually. We just didn't have an answer for him in the end.”
 
Game 2 is just the latest edition in the chronicles of the Husky rivalry. Last season Allen edged out Hamilton and the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals. Hamilton tested Allen, though, outscoring him 22 points to 17.5 over the six-game series. This series Gordon is averaging 14 more points a game than Allen. Both players presented different challenges for the Celtics shooting guard.
 
“I think with Detroit, they set so many screens,” explained Allen. “Coming off the screen, Rip sometimes he's so wide open because I'm getting hit left and right. Chicago sets screens. They throw me off the pass just a little bit and Ben's going up and he can score from anywhere on the floor. Rip can score from anywhere on the floor, too, but Ben, I think, is a little bit better three-point shooter. So in transition, you have to find him and he's so unpredictable. One-on-one, he's good with the ball, he's iso, so it's just a matter of me shoving him to wherever the bigs are to keep a hand in his face.”
 
Former Piston and current Bull Lindsay Hunter has seen both Gordon and Hamilton go at it against Allen. The players may be different but the intensity stays the same.
 
“I think all those UConn guards have a thing for each other, going at each other and they really compete tough on one another. I've seen Rip and Ray go at it, I've seen BG and Rip go at it, and now to see BG and Ray go at it, it speaks volumes about the type of guards they bring out of that school,” Hunter said. “They're all phenomenal shooters. They're all quick releases, can shoot off the dribble. Ben is in the more of the Vinnie Johnson-type mode where he can go off on a tangent and get 20 points in a quarter. Ray is that constant, smooth stroke. Everything is kind of smooth with him. It's just a joy to see them out there battling.”
 
A battle it was. The protective sleeve that was originally used against Hamilton has now become a Husky barrier.
 
“I don't know, it got a little chippy out there today,” Allen said with a laugh when asked if he needed the sleeve against Gordon. “It got a little chippy, but I accept the challenge and I appreciate the competitiveness. I've been watching Ben for a long time so going back up to school I've admired his game. It's competition. That's one thing, I appreciate the competition. When we walk off the  floor, we're UConn alums. It's all good.”
 
Easy to say when you've won the rivalry.