Allen’s spectacular dunk sparks 12-2 run
Anybody who thinks all dunks are created equal, every one worth just twopoints, 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.
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 flulike symptoms.
“With Frank, it’s just strength,’’ Hornacek said before the Knicks lost to the Warriors on Monday. “He’s 19 and he’s never been in a weight program. Our strength guys are working hard with him. He has gotten stronger. But it’s going to take him a couple of years, almost like KP. It’s going to take couple of years to get that strength. Everything becomes easier. You don’t get knocked off your spot. You can finish better. The more strength you have, the more conditioning you can do and not get tired.”
During the All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, Ntilikina was asked where he’d spend his offseason and he answered “France” — which raised some eyebrows. However, when pressed, he said he would “split time’’ and also be in New York.
Hornacek said no talks have taken place, but Las Vegas would seem very possible after the way Ntilikina has struggled on offense as a rookie. It’s led the Knicks to add two young point guards to the roster in Trey Burke and Emmanuel Mudiay. Ntilikina’s defense, though, has the Knicks feeling he’s a keeper.
“We haven’t discussed any of that [summer] stuff,’’ Hornacek said. “We want to encourage them after the season to go back. It’s tough for a kid to leave home. He’s got to get home but he’ll be back a little bit. I’m sure we’ll have him back for the summer league.’’
The Warriors head to Washington on Tuesday but will not visit the White House. Instead, they will take a side trip to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. President Trump uninvited them to the White House because of hesitancy about the visit that was expressed by coach Steve Kerr and star Stephen Curry.