Reggie Evans haunts old team as Nets thump Sixers

NEW YORK - Perhaps not since Cheltenham High's Reggie Jackson heard his name chanted by Yankees fans has a Gotham crowd yelled the name "Reggie" over and over again.

But former 76er Reggie Evans got that treatment Tuesday night at the Barclays Center as the playoff-bound Brooklyn Nets handled the Sixers, 104-83.

A Sixers forward from 2007 to '09, Evans pulled down 24 rebounds and scored 17 points to help the Nets to an easy victory in a game they led for all but 18 seconds of the first quarter.

It marked the ninth time this season that Evans has grabbed 20 or more rebounds - which leads the league. New York's Tyson Chandler and Dwight Howard are next with two apiece.

"His activity, he hurt us on the boards," Sixers coach Doug Collins said of Evans, who pulled down 23 rebounds earlier in the season against the Sixers. "I think he sees a Sixers jersey and it's sort of like the red cape to the bull."

Evans did not play in the fourth quarter. After three periods, his 24 rebounds were more than the entire Sixers team had (22).

The Sixers, who shot just 37.5 percent from the field, absorbed a pounding from the Nets in just about every aspect of the game.

Brooklyn's Brook Lopez led all scorers with 29 points. He also grabbed 11 rebounds. The Nets, who are fourth in the Eastern Conference, pulled down 67 rebounds, the most by a Sixers opponent all season.

Evans and Lopez "just complement each other well," said Sixers center Spencer Hawes, who scored seven points and pulled down six rebounds. "Brook draws so much attention, and that gives Reggie the chance to do what he does best. Both of them kicked our [butts] tonight."

Nick Young led the Sixers with 18 points. Jrue Holiday added 15 points but had just one assist.

The only bad news for the Nets was the fact that the Knicks clinched the Atlantic Division title with a victory over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.

The loss dropped the Sixers to 31-46. It was their 19th defeat in the last 22 road games.

Sensing that the Sixers have nothing to play for - their remote playoff hopes were dashed over the weekend - the Nets fed Lopez and Evans early and often.

They led by 31-18 at the end of the first quarter, by 18 at halftime and by 27 late in the third quarter. Neither team played its starters in the fourth quarter.