Civil suit filed against Allen

Sometime in the early morning of Aug. 28, the Celtics' Tony Allen entered the White Palace Grill in Chicago. Soon thereafter, a man was shot and another was punched in the left eye. A Chicago attorney yesterday fingered Allen as the man responsible for the punching and has filed a civil suit in Cook County District Court seeking damages well in excess of $50,000.

''Tony Allen is the one who punched [my client] in the left eye," attorney Rahsaan Gordon said yesterday. ''My client has a blowout fracture of the left eye socket and that was [caused by] Tony Allen." The injured party is Nigel Odum.

Allen's Chicago-based attorney, Michael Zaslavsky, refused to comment on Gordon's civil suit, filed Tuesday. ''I have not seen the suit, so I have no comment," Zasvlasky said. Asked about Gordon's remarks pinpointing Allen, Zaslavsky again declined to comment.

Celtics director of basketball operations Danny Ainge said the matter is being handled by Zaslavsky, but added, ''Based on what we've been told, we don't think Tony is guilty of any crime."

Another client of Gordon's, Marktwain Johnson, also is a plaintiff in the civil suit, which additionally names the White Palace Grill and the restaurant's owner as defendants.

Johnson was shot in the left arm and side in what he said followed an incident initiated by Allen.

But, Gordon said yesterday, ''Tony Allen is not the shooter."

Chicago police also are investigating the matter, but they have yet to speak to Allen, who is in the Boston area preparing for the season. Gordon admitted yesterday that the civil suit would be delayed until the criminal matter is resolved. But he said he filed the suit because there were several witnesses at the restaurant, as well as surveillance cameras.

Gordon added he expected both Odum and Johnson would be eligible for significantly more than $50,000 should they prevail.

Allen was at the restaurant along with some friends to celebrate the Celtics' signing of rookie Will Bynum, who was a teammate of Allen's at Crane High School in Chicago.