Anybody who thinks all dunks are created equal, every one worth just two points, didn’t see Jarrett Allen’s game-changing ‘fro-down on Bulls big man Lauri Markkanen.
It made highlight reels, set Twitter trending and sparked the decisive run in the Nets’ slump-busting 104-87 victory over Chicago on Monday.
Early in the third quarter they were still clinging to a 58-56 lead that was tenuous at best. But that’s when Allen took a D’Angelo Russell pass and put a disrespectful posterization on Markkanen. It electrified the crowd and got the bench fired up.
“They were missing on the pick-and-roll, so I just tried to get out earlier and D’Lo made the perfect pass to set me up. I had to jump over him to dunk it,” Allen said. “I get juice. Everybody gets juice. You heard the crowd roar, the team, you can look at the bench. You saw the clip of it. They went crazy, so not only do I get juice, but everybody else does.”
Allen had six points in the 12-2 run that padded the Nets’ lead from two to 12. He finished with 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting and nine rebounds.
“It’s always a big boost. Highlight plays like that are always fun to watch even if you’re on the court, you’re kind of a spectator for that split-second. And it was nice,” said Spencer Dinwiddie, singing the SportsCenter theme.
“They were blitzing our pick-and-roll, they were double-teaming our pick-and-roll. That’s hard transition to do that. Jarrett runs the court, then he goes and sets a pick and he puts so much pressure on the rim,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “That was the game-changer. He really opens up things for our wing players to make plays.”
The Nets honored late great Drazen Petrovic at Monday’s game, from 10,000 figurines handed out to fans to a first-quarter video tribute.
Petrovic’s mother Biserka was on hand from Croatia, and was stunned that a quarter of a century after her son’s tragic death at just 28 in an auto accident, the Nets would still be honoring him.
“I was really overwhelmed, really happy and also really shocked because I didn’t think after 25 years that Drazen made such a mark on the Nets organization. I really appreciated for them inviting us and for making this night Drazen’s night,” Biserka told The Post, with her grandson Marko — Drazen’s nephew — translating.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had seven points in 22 minutes, Caris LeVert six points in 21. Atkinson said the duo can not only play Tuesday, but see their minutes increase.
“They can probably go up a little. It’s incrementally just going up bit by bit. I think they’ll be able to,” Atkinson said. “It was good we kept their minutes where they are and expect them to keep increasing their minutes.”
Jahlil Okafor missed Monday’s game with flu-like symptoms.