Reggie Evans made his first trip to Brooklyn Sunday as a visiting player, as the former Nets forward returned to face his old teammates after being dealt along with Jason Terry to the Kings for Marcus Thornton a little over two weeks ago.
But Evans, who signed with the Nets before their inaugural season in Brooklyn and became a fan favorite at Barclays Center, said he has no hard feelings about being shipped out of town at the trade deadline.
“I wasn’t shocked by the trade,” Evans said before the Nets beat the Kings 104-89. “I was surprised knowing it was Sacramento that wanted me, but I wasn’t really shocked by the trade.
“Like I told [Nets general manager Billy King], it’s never personal. It’s always business, so I understand. I’m not one of those types of players who holds grudges or takes it so personal when they get traded. It’s a business. At the end of the day, I’m still living out my dream, and that’s to play in the NBA. That’s the best way to look at it.”
Evans, who finished with three points and nine rebounds in 17 minutes, became a key contributor for the Nets last season, going from being part of an effective partnership with Andray Blatche off the bench to moving into the starting lineup alongside Brook Lopez after interim coach P.J. Carlesimo took over for Avery Johnson.
This season, however, Evans became a spare part, especially after the Nets switched to their current small-ball alignment that had them only playing one big at a time and getting quality minutes from Kevin Garnett, Blatche and rookie Mason Plumlee.
“No, he never gave me no reason,” Evans said when asked if Nets coach Jason Kidd explained his drop in minutes . “He never had no one-on-one talk with me, or nothing like that. I never knew why I didn’t play.
“All I could do was control what I could control, and that was myself. Then I just was supporting my teammates and whatever decision he wanted to do, I had to just take it on the chin and be there to support my teammates and work hard.”
Sunday marked the third straight time the Nets played at home without trailing at all. They’ve gone over 186 minutes of game action at Barclays Center without playing from behind, a streak that goes back to the first quarter of their game on Feb. 12 against the Bobcats — the game that preceded them leaving Brooklyn for more than two weeks to make way for the circus.
By forcing the Kings into 28 turnovers compared to just 11 assists, the Nets made it six straight games in which they have forced their opponent into more turnovers than assists, setting a new franchise record. It also was the sixth straight game the Nets finished with at least 12 steals, after picking up 14.
Jorge Gutierrez, who signed a 10-day contract with the Nets Thursday, made his NBA debut in the fourth quarter, finishing with a point and a steal over the final 4:48.
The Cal product, who was in training camp with the Nets before being cut and playing for the D-League’s Canton Charge, became the fourth Mexican-born player to play in the NBA, joining Gustavo Ayon, Horacio Llamas and former Net Eduardo Najera.