Jarrett Allen wanted to prove himself against the highest-paid center in the NBA on Tuesday night and succeeded.

Next up? Joel Embiid.

Allen will get his shot at the center who has tormented him throughout his career Thursday night when the Nets host Embiid and the 76ers at Barclays Center. Coming off a monster 19-point, 18-rebound effort against Rudy Gobert and the Jazz on Tuesday, Allen will have another chance to prove he has taken the next step against one of the league’s best.

“[Allen] has been playing fantastic this season,” Nets coach Steve Nash said Wednesday. “It’s a unique matchup. [Embiid] is one of the biggest and most talented players in the league. There’s not many ‘Embiid-stoppers’ on the planet. So, I just want to see us work together. I want to see him fight and scrap and claw and make it difficult for him and win 50-50 balls. We have to support him as a team and DJ [DeAndre Jordan] the same.”

While Allen made his first start of the season Tuesday in place of Jordan as part of Nash’s lineup shake-up, it was Jordan who played the bulk of the minutes in the Nets’ most recent matchup with Embiid last February. In that game, Embiid posted 39 points and 16 rebounds while Allen finished with zero points and two rebounds.

In 12 career games against Embiid, Allen has averaged 9.3 points and seven rebounds while Embiid has averaged 27.7 points and 14 rebounds. That included the 2019 playoff series that escalated after Embiid threw an elbow at Allen on his way to the rim.

Former Nets coach Kenny Atkinson often went to Jordan or former center Ed Davis for big minutes against the physical Embiid. Nash said he would be willing to adjust if Allen needed help Thursday and that he planned to give Embiid different looks.

“I think everyone struggles with Joel,” Nash said.

Allen had also previously struggled with Gobert, the two-time defensive player of the year who earned a five-year, $205 million extension last month, but it was a different story Tuesday night.

“To me, it was a statement play,” veteran forward Jeff Green said of Allen’s performance against Gobert. “From his words, that was a game that he wanted to prove that he’s someone to be looked at as one of the top centers in this league, and that was a game for him to come out and prove that, and I think he did that.”

If Allen keeps doing it, the Nets could be in for a big decision on their 22-year-old big man.

The two sides could not agree on a contract extension before the season began, meaning Allen will be a restricted free agent next offseason. There has been speculation that he could be included in a trade for a bigger piece, particularly with Jordan under contract through 2023 on a $40 million deal. But the defensive-minded Allen has also shown reasons why he could be part of the Nets’ future core, especially as a homegrown talent who has made big strides before the organization’s eyes.

“Going back to rookie year, you’re a deer in the headlights,” Allen said. “I had a lot coming at me, and just looking at all the bigs that came before me, looking at all the bigs I had to play against, being thrown into the fire at 19. And then, after that, playoffs and just having to learn on the job, and finally this year, I’m starting to put it all together. Knowing what I have to do, knowing I can still be more physical out there and not being able to call fouls, getting respect from the refs, that’s a thing. Just going out there, playing my game, being comfortable over the past few years.”