Brooklyn Nets: Player grades from OT victory(!!) over Raptors

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Brooklyn Nets D’Angelo Russell (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

The Brooklyn Nets ended their 8-game losing streak Friday night in dramatic fashion, fending off the Toronto Raptors for a 106-105 overtime victory.

It was the spike heard ’round Brooklyn Friday night when Brooklyn Nets center Jarrett Allen punctuated the Nets’ 106-105 overtime victory over the Toronto Raptors by slamming the final rebound of the game high off the floor.

And why wouldn’t Allen be excited?

The victory by the Nets over the team with the best record in the NBA ended an eight-game losing streak, was their first win at Barclays Center in more than a month — ending an eight-game skid — and was Brooklyn’s first win over the Raptors since April 3, 2015.

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Coach Kenny Atkinson tweaked the rotation a bit Friday night, inserting rookie Rodions Kurucs and sitting out guard Shabazz Napier, while pushing veteran Jared Dudley to the back end of the 10-man group.

Brooklyn (9-18) nearly blew yet another double-digit lead — the Nets lead the NBA with eight losses this season after leading by 10 points or more — but hung on. Allen’s layup with 1:04 left in overtime provided the winning points and Brooklyn got two stops in the final minute.

It ended an agonizing stretch at home that included large leads squandered in losses to the Philadelphia 76ers, Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies and a loss to the hapless Cleveland Cavaliers on a dunk after a defensive miscommunication with 3.2 second left.

The Nets also handed Toronto (21-6) just its second loss in its last 11 games and broke a 12-game losing streak against the Raptors in the process.

Two-way contract players Alan Williams and Theo Pinson were both with the Long Island Nets in the NBA G League, while rookie Dzanan Musa was also on assignment to Long Island.

Treveon Graham missed his 25th straight game with a strained left hamstring and Caris LeVert was out for the 13th consecutive game with a subtalar dislocation of his right foot.

For Napier, the DNP-CD was his second in 24 active games and his first since Nov. 9. He was inactive for the first three games of the season recovering from a hamstring injury sustained in training camp.

Kenneth Faried, meanwhile, was a DNP-CD for the 18th time in 26 games on the active list.

Here are the player grades from Brooklyn’s first win since two days before Thanksgiving.