MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Midway through the fourth quarter of the Nets’ night’s 101-77 loss to the Grizzlies Friday night, Reggie Evans finally had enough.
It was bad enough the Nets had been manhandled by the Grizzlies, and that Memphis still had starters Mike Conley, Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph on the floor while the Nets had emptied their bench.
But when Memphis coach Lionel Hollins opted to send starting center Marc Gasol back into the game with the Grizzlies holding a 20-point lead with less than four minutes left, Evans couldn’t take it any more. He rose up off the bench and yelled over to Gasol several times while Gasol stood at the scorer’s table waiting to check in.
“That was the point where I was like, ‘Wow’ … I was real shocked to see him come back in,” Evans said. “I guess it is what it is.”
Evans admitted the Nets put themselves in that position by the way they played against Memphis. saying “You can do what you want.” But that didn’t mean he liked it.
“We’re pretty much putting our subs in the game, and just to see you putting him in the game,” Evans said. “You’ve got Rudy and Zach still in the game. You still got Conley in the game and then you’re going to put [Gasol] in the game? It’s like, ‘Are you serious?’
“I’m kind of shocked, you know what I’m saying? It is what it is, but you can’t do nothing but respect it. It won’t be forgotten, though.”
The burly power forward, who finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double as a Net, sounded like he already circled Feb. 24 on his calendar, when the Grizzlies make their lone trip of the season to Brooklyn.
“Right now we’re going to focus on Houston, but we’re definitely going to look forward to that day they’re coming,” Evans said.