The fans at the Barclays Center were chanting “Reggie, Reggie” so often it sounded like Reggie Jackson when he homered on three straight pitches for the Yankees in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series.

Instead, those chants were reserved for rugged power forward Reggie Evans, who totaled 17 points and 24 rebounds, helping the Nets dominate the paint in a 104-83 rout of the 76ers.

“[It was] just people double-teaming Joe and double-teaming Deron and basically leaving me,” Evans said. “I got to do my best to try and give the team something. So that was just the main thing, the way the team was playing us.”

The Nets (45-32) further solidified their standing as the fourth seed, moving three games ahead of Chicago, which lost at home to Toronto Tuesday night. They have five games remaining before the season ends next Wednesday against Detroit.

“We got a lot of guys that have never been to the playoffs, so you got to have that mindset like every game is important, not only that but you got to take advantage of the home games and stuff like that,” Evans said. “So you’ve got to have that mindset like the playoffs are now and every possession is going to be tough offensively and defensively.”

Evans was among the primary reasons the Nets did not have to rely on Deron Williams and Joe Johnson to get things done offensively. He had a double-double by the end of the first quarter and had his 20th rebound halfway through the third quarter.

“Reggie has been great,” center Brook Lopez said. “It seems like a nightly routine. He has become so great at making a decision after he gets the offensive rebound, either to go back up strong or to find the open man.”

“Reggie has been playing unbelievable of late,” Johnson added. “He’s just very relentless going to the glass, offensively and defensively. He’s just making plays. He’s a guy that you don’t have to run a play for. So to have those kind of guys on your team, that’s big.”

It was Evans’ eighth double-double and fourth in the last seven games. He was also the first Net to have a double-double by the end of the first quarter and the first in the NBA since Dwight Howard on Feb. 8, 2012.

It was his ninth 20-rebound game of the season and not surprisingly the Nets have won eight of those.

Also helping the Nets dominate the paint by a 58-30 margin and outrebound Philadelphia, 67-34, was Lopez. Lopez had 29 points and 11 rebounds while making 13-of-22 shots. It was Lopez’s 11th double-double this season.

“They were aggressive,” interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “They were dominant inside. They contested shots and rebounded. They helped out on defense. They set a great tone for us.”

Those performances placed a diminished emphasis on Williams and Johnson which could prove important since the Nets start a three-game road trip Wednesday against the seventh-seeded Celtics in their first meeting since a disappointing Christmas Day loss at home.

“We put ourselves in a position where we hopefully lessen the impact of a back-to-back,” Carlesimo said. “We got at it tonight as well as you could considering we needed to win the game and I thought played very efficiently which was really good to see.”

Johnson, who was a game-time decision with a sore left heel, had 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting in 23 minutes. Williams, who had 62 points in his previous two games, did not score until early in the third quarter and finished with 11 points — all in the third — while playing 27 minutes.

The Nets began seizing control over the final eight minutes of the second quarter. After Philadelphia was within 36-31 with 8:05 to play, the Nets closed out the half by outscoring the Sixers 20-7.

Unlike several other previous games, the Nets didn’t let up in the third. They steadily increased the lead and held a comfortable 23-point cushion entering the fourth.

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

The post Nets rout Sixers behind huge effort from Reggie Evans appeared first on Metro.us.

The Knicks needed to flex some muscle as they came into Sunday night’s game on a four-game skid. Leave it to defensive anchor Tyson Chandler to lead the way, as they got off the schneid with a 99-93 win over the 76ers.

Chandler’s impact wasn’t necessarily felt in the box score, as he had 14 rebounds and just five points, but it was the edge he played with all game that seemingly affected the youthful Sixers and spurred his veteran team.

“When you lose four in a row, and we haven’t done that very often, you’re a little on edge,” said head coach Mike Woodson, adding he appreciated Chandler’s and Carmelo Anthony’s feistiness, but doesn’t want his stars crossing the line. “Of course, Melo has to control his emotions, but he’s a physical player and he likes contact, which is great. He certainly doesn’t back away from contact.”

The 7-foot-1 reigning Defensive Player of the Year showed why he’s one of the most feared and respected post players in the league as he shut down Philadelphia center Spencer Hawes and helped the Knicks earn a rare win in the rebounding department, 48-44.

Chandler noted that the team discussed how they’d attack the Sixers during their pregame preparation and added that the team had a bit of desperation in their play.

“I think we came out more aggressive tonight, especially with our trapping defense that set the tone,” Chandler said. “Four losses [in a row] will wake you up, so we had to stop the bleeding.”

The Knicks (33-20) used a 28-18 advantage in the second quarter as they imposed their will on the Sixers (22-32), including a stretch in which the Knicks held the Sixers to 2-of-10 shooting to start the quarter.

Carmelo Anthony led New York with 29 points, as he remained in attack mode all night, setting a season-high with 18 attempted free throws.

Immediately following the game, Anthony acknowledged that he was taking it hard to the rim to force the hands of the officials.

“They were calling it tonight,” Anthony said, taking a playful shot at the referees. “Nothing has changed. I always try to stay aggressive and get to the rim. But this time they were calling it for me.”

Anthony wasn’t the only Knicks player to force the Sixers’ hands as Amar’e Stoudemire added a season-high 22 points on an efficient 9-of-10 shooting. The lack of cohesion between the duo has been an ongoing issue for a couple of seasons now, but Sunday night was a time for the Knicks to revel in the fact that Anthony and Stoudemire excelled playing together. The jelling was so rare to see that it was just the third time all season both Anthony and Stoudemire notched 20 points or more in the same game.

Anthony, in particular, was happy to see how well his fellow cornerstone meshed.

“We needed that energy from him, especially with him coming off the bench and leading that second unit,” Anthony said of Stoudemire. “He’s one of our go-to guys and keys to our team. We expect this from him.”

Stoudemire was happy to contribute to the win in any manner, noting he was able to “establish good post position and [be] patient,” but added the most important factor was the team’s desperation.

“After losing four-straight games it’s never a good feeling, so we came out with more intensity than usual,” he said. “We just wanted to dominate from the start, especially with that team that’s in our division. … It was a good win, because coach was saying this was a must-win.”

Knicks notes

»  Sixers’ point guard Jrue Holiday notched 30 points in consecutive games against the Knicks, making it the first time since Allen Iverson did it in 2006 that a Sixer accomplished such a feat against them.

» Raymond Felton said his heel isn’t anything to worry about, even though he came out for a spell to get checked out by head trainer Roger Hinds: “I’m good, I’m fine. No tests needed.”

Follow Knicks beat writer Tony Williams on Twitter @TBone8.

The post Knicks beat Sixers, stop losing streak at four appeared first on Metro.us.

Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni was almost flabbergasted afterwards as he seemed to suggest he’s run out of ways to motivate his team. He allowed that inspiring his squad has been an issue and sounded near wits-end trying to find a way to rouse this crew.    

“It’s what we’ve talked about all year and it hasn’t come through yet. It’s hard to explain. It’s more [about] spirit [because] when we hit a snag [we] seem to wither. And for whatever reason we haven’t been able to overcome any kind of obstacles,” D’Antoni said. “Even when we’re down only two [points] we seem to act like the world is caving. … That’s the first thing we have to solve. We have to keep fighting and just have to play harder and with more urgency.”

There was more urgency amongst the bench players, as the subs were the main reason for the Knicks’ near comeback. Conspicuous in their absences during the final moments were the Knicks’ superstars, Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire. Neither helped matters much as Anthony finished with 22 points (5-of-13 shooting) and Stoudemire could only muster nine.

D’Antoni said while it looked otherwise, the duo’s benching had nothing to do with sending a message, but rather a sign that he wanted to ride the hot hands of the reserves.  

“We waited way too late to get going again and we needed a spark. Those guys [reserves] were fighting and almost got us back, so I thought it’d be unfair to take them out,” D’Antoni said, noting he also did the same in a loss in Dallas a few nights ago. “If guys are fighting hard to come back I’m not going to take them out. You try something different. Our energy was going pretty good, so I left them in.”    

Tyson Chandler returned to the lineup following a two-game hiatus due to a tight hamstring and said he’s seen both from afar on the bench and first-hand that guys have been hanging their heads way too much.   

“Guys get down on themselves when they’re not making shots but that’s when you have to dig deeper,” Chandler said. “You’re gonna miss shots but the thing you can’t do is not get back defensively. You can always give everything you have defensively, no matter what’s going on around you.”   

Chandler said he noticed that the stars were on the bench in the waning minutes, but backed up D’Antoni’s assertion that no message was being sent. He said he feels the hardest-working five need to be on the floor, regardless of team status.   
      
“The only thing that matters is the five guys that [D’Antoni] puts out there,” Chandler said. “They have to be the five guys that are willing to play hard on both ends. That’s what it’ll take for us to get wins.”    

While Chandler refused to put any of his teammates on blast, deferring to the cliché of having to “watch more game film” before critiquing anyone, he allowed that guys need to look in the mirror to see what — if anything — they can do to right the ship.     

“I don’t know but it’s something we have to look at,” Chandler said when asked about the lack of urgency. “We have to get back in the film room and see where we have to fix it. You have to have a commitment [because] we can’t just have great spurts. We need to play with that same sense of urgency in the beginning as we do when we get down. … Everyone in this locker room needs to take a step back and understand what they need to do to contribute to this team.”   

Knicks notes
 
» While many seem to have fallen off the Linsanity bandwagon, D’Antoni said everyone needs to just relax. He added he has total confidence in Lin and noted the first-year starter is learning on the fly: “Jeremy has to play a certain way. He’s going to make some mistakes, but he’ll get there. He’s only 20 games into his career so he’ll have some [growing] pains, but he’ll just have to figure it out. He’s going to be a very good point guard.”
  
» Tyson Chandler (hamstring/wrist) came back to the lineup after missing two games, but couldn’t help fix the team’s ailments. Chandler had eight points and a team-high 12 rebounds, but wasn’t a factor as he was constantly in foul trouble.   

» Rookie guard Iman Shumpert said he thinks the biggest problem with the team is a lack of confidence. Even though he’s a neophyte, Shumpert said he’s noticed the lack of fun the team is having and added the team’s mindset has done a 180-degree turn from their not-too-distant seven-game winning streak: “We have to have a swagger about ourselves and know that we’re going to win. Throughout the winning streak, even when we were down, we acted like we were up. It didn’t matter because we knew we were going to pull out that game somehow.” 

» The Knicks will need to get their swagger back soon but it won’t be easy with a Monday night date in Chicago with the Eastern Conference-leading Bulls.  

» New York was once again outmuscled in the paint as the Sixers held a 46-42 advantage in the paint.

Follow Knicks beat writer Tony Williams on Twitter @TBone8.

The post Knicks nearing breaking point after Sixers loss appeared first on Metro.us.

Fresh off their recent four-game road skid, the Knicks (18-23) dropped their seventh game in nine contests as they failed to match the intensity of a Sixers (25-17) team that has now won three straight. The win also extended Philadelphia’s Atlantic Division lead to six and a half games over the suddenly-plunging No. 8-seed Knicks.   

While the Knicks have been notorious slow starters on matinee games, it was the middle portion of the game that doomed them, as they allowed 6-0, 7-0 and 11-0 runs by Philadelphia in the second and third quarters. The third quarter sunk New York as the Sixers tallied 38 points and stretched the lead to as many as 21 points. Reserve guard Lou Williams led the Sixers with 14 of his game-high 28 points in the quarter.   

New York got little to no help from their superstars, as Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire could only muster 22 and nine points, respectively. Anthony shot only 5-of-13, while Stoudemire only shot 4-of-9. The Knicks’ other alleged star, Jeremy Lin, wasn’t much help either as he had only 14 points on a paltry 5-of-18 shooting. Lin added seven assists, but that was cancelled out by his game-high six turnovers.     

Tyson Chandler (hamstring/wrist) came back to the lineup after missing two games, but couldn’t help right the ship. Chandler had eight points and a team-high 12 rebounds, but wasn’t a factor as he was constantly in foul trouble.  

Up next for the Knicks is a Monday night date in Chicago against the Eastern Conference-leading Bulls.

What went wrong …

1. Must play must win

The Knicks didn’t treat this game as a must-win situation, as they were erratic for most of the afternoon. The Sixers ran the lead up to as many as 21 points, as the Knicks had a litany of miscues and poor shot choices. The Knicks allowed a plethora of easy transition buckets in the third quarter. 

2. Lin-sanity over

The magical dust that was Linsanity has now turned into an insane amount of turnovers, as the first-year starter continued his trend of giving away possessions. Lin, who was averaging almost six turnovers a game, stayed consistent with his learning experience as he aided the Sixers’ cause with a game-high six giveaways.    

3. Benched

Lin wasn’t the only well-known Knicks player to have an off day, as superstars Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire didn’t help matters much, either. Neither shot the ball well and both were sieves defensively as they were a minus-16 and minus-12 respectively in the all-important points-scored and points-allowed ratio. It should also be noted that when the Knicks finally cut the 21-point deficit to single digits late in the fourth quarter that both Anthony and Stoudemire were seen on the bench.

Follow Knicks beat writer Tony Williams on Twitter @TBone8.

The post Knicks’ slide continues in loss to Sixers appeared first on Metro.us.

New York (6-4), winners of its last four, ended a six-game winning streak for a Philadelphia (7-3) squad that was wrapping up its third leg of a back-to-back-to-back stretch. The Sixers were game, however, as they continually battled back from double-digit deficits including a 17-point margin in the fourth quarter. But it was the clutch play of Carmelo Anthony who managed to stave off the collapse. Anthony netted six of his game-high 27 points down the stretch to overcome an ugly fourth quarter in which the Knicks had 12 turnovers and, along with the Sixers, went the final 5:50 without a field goal.     

The Knicks got help from an unusual source, rookie forward Josh Harrellson, who tallied seven of his 13 points in the first quarter. Harrellson also nailed three 3-pointers, including a trey as time expired in the third quarter, and a blocked shot to give the Knicks’ bench a boost of energy.    

“Josh plays well a lot. It’s just that it’s usually some of the things you don’t see [in the box score] like playing strong defense,” said D’Antoni. “I think he’ll keep getting better and if he continues to knock down shots he’ll open up the floor for Melo and Amar’e.”        

New York’s other rookie, Iman Shumpert, once again got the start at point guard and the swingman didn’t disappoint. Shumpert stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Shumpert was a key player in numerous Knicks’ runs whenever the Sixers tried to forge a comeback. His most versatile moment came in the midst of a key 11-1 fourth-quarter run, with Anthony on the bench, as he buried a mid-range jumper to raise the lead to 15 and then ignited a fastbreak after a sweet pick-pocket steal. He then found Amar’e Stoudemire with a thunderous dunk to raise the lead to 17, which would be the largest margin of the night.   

The lead wouldn’t stick, however, as the Sixers managed to chip away in large part due to the Knicks’ inability to close out the game. It was a testament to the Sixers’ mettle, but also to the way the Knicks’ offense suddenly stalled. D’Antoni said that offensive ineptness can’t continue, no matter how well the defense is picking up the slack.   

“We can’t keep games in the 70s and think that’s good enough. We need more and we will,” D’Antoni said. “We know [defense] is going to be a key down the stretch anyway. Tyson [Chandler] and Shumpert make a big difference, [but] our offense was stagnant and it needs to be better than that. … We’ll have to get through some days like that though.”   

The Knicks rode their newfound defensive intensity to the win as they stifled the athletic Sixers. Although they had five players in double-figures scoring, none had more than Andre Iguodala’s 16 points. The Sixers finished 39.5 percent from the field, including an anemic 20 percent from behind the arc. Heading into the game, Philadelphia led the league with a plus-16 in points differential, but constantly found themselves on the wrong end of runs. The Knicks forged 13-0, 16-0 and 7-0 runs throughout the game to always keep the Sixers at arm’s length. Not even an 11-0 run in the waning minutes could help Philadelphia get over the hump, as the closest they’d get would be four points with 29.7 seconds remaining.       

Chandler said it was great to have Anthony bail out the offense with his usual aggressive attacks to the rim that forced the defense to put him on the foul line, but added the offense still needs to match the efficiency of their defense.   

“Ball movement stalled and Melo carried us for a stretch when he got hot. In the end he made enough to save us,” Chandler said. “It was definitely a physical game, but the offense will come. We struggled, but that’s how it’s going to be at times when you’re playing one of the top teams in the conference.”  

Overall, Chandler, who was brought in to change the culture of the once-lackadaisical defense, said he’s more than happy to win this way — for now.    

“We did a great job at communicating. We’re being smart about it now,” Chandler said. “Earlier in the season guys were attacking the glass, but not getting back on defense. But now we have one or two guys getting back at all times.”   

The collective basketball IQ of the team has been raised this year, said D’Antoni.   

“It’s been a rough couple of games, but we’ll take it. When you get good defensive players you play good defense, there’s no secret to it. Guys are buying in and Tyson and Iman are the catalyst. When guys see them do it they buy into it and it raises the intensity,” D’Antoni said, adding the game was very important to get considering how tight the Atlantic Division is. “This was a big game [because] it was in our division. It was almost like it counted twice, one good for us and one bad for them.”   

Knicks notes

» Harrellson said he’s been encouraged as much as Shumpert has by the veterans, as they’re constantly telling the soft-shooting big to fire away: “My teammates gave me confidence to keep shooting it, especially when they double-team either Melo, Amar’e or Tyson. Melo keeps telling me to shoot it from the corner because that’s where I’m usually open.     

More so than his scoring tonight, Harrellson said he was most proud of the way he battled former all-star forward Elton Brand: “We’ve had a lot of good quarters because we’ve become a good defensive team. My mind was to keep him [Brand] out of the paint and thankfully his shots weren’t falling (four-of-11).”  
 
» D’Antoni said people can sleep on his rookies all they want, but he’s not surprised with how much they’re already contributing: “I don’t think anything is a surprise. But [Shumpert’s] hands and strength on the defensive end is what is nice and what we noticed. And since he started we’ve won four in a row and I don’t think that’s a coincidence. We’ve added two really good pieces to go with the addition of Tyson.  

» The Sixers shot a season-low 31 percent after the first quarter and also had a season-low in first-half points with 35. The Knicks forced seven turnovers in the opening quarter.   

At one point the Knicks knocked down seven-straight threes, but cooled off considerably, finishing the game shooting 6-of-22 from behind the arc.

» Up next for the Knicks is a Thursday night nationally-televised game at Memphis.

Follow Knicks beat writer Tony Williams on Twitter @TBone8.

The post Knicks win, end Sixers’ streak at six games appeared first on Metro.us.