Reggie Evans (22 points, 26 rebounds) leads Nets past Trail Blazers
Nets center Brook Lopez, left, works the ball against Portland Trail Blazers center J.J. Hickson during the first quarter. (March 27, 2013) Credit: AP
PORTLAND -- Understanding their upcoming landscape and well aware they were going to be without their go-to guy in the clutch once again, P.J Carlesimo wasn't going to undersell the magnitude of this one.
Despite Joe Johnson sitting for the second straight game as he works through his right quadriceps contusion, the Nets got all the offense they needed and then some. They exploded for 64 first-half points and raced out to a 29-point lead in the second quarter, running away with a 111-93 victory.
"That's a very, very good win. Our guys were ready to play,'' P.J. Carlesimo said.
Shaking off blurred vision in his eyes, which he said was caused by a virus that got worse once the Nets (42-29) arrived in Dallas last week, Reggie Evans was a beast.
The burly power forward notched his fifth double-double of the season, tying his career high with 22 points and setting a career high in rebounds with 26. Brook Lopez added 28 points for the Nets, who moved 13 games over .500 for the first time since the 2005-06 season and are 4-1 on this stretch of eight games away from home.
"Just wanted to be aggressive as in trying to get my team into it, get them going,'' Evans said. That's basically what it really came down to, just bring some energy for them so we can kind of pull together and pull this out. I guess you could say I had it going.''
Said Carlesimo, "Reggie was absurd.''
Evans played like he was possessed, using his relentless inside prowess to help the Nets grab a 16-0 advantage in second-chance points. Showing a deft lefthanded touch, Evans posted nine points and snared 10 rebounds in the opening quarter, single-handedly outrebounding the Blazers, who mustered three boards in the initial 12 minutes.
The Nets' long trip continues this weekend with stops in Denver tomorrow and Utah on Saturday. "We just want to keep it going,'' Deron Williams said. "Everybody wants to get home. It's definitely been a long trip, but we can't look past these two teams.''
