Brooklyn Nets power forward Reggie Evans wasn’t playing well earlier this season -- and one of his teammates wanted interim coach P.J. Carlesimo to bench him.
Evans was upset, but decided to keep his emotions in check.
"I got frustrated one day when one of my teammates told my coach to take me out the game. I bit my tongue. I didn’t say nothing to (my teammate)," Evans said, according to the New York Daily News.
"But me, knowing me, I usually attack and say something. I bit my tongue. I said, 'Ok' I said, 'Alright, start being aggressive.' So I took it in a positive way, instead of just doing my normal self, like 'What you say? What you say?'"
Good move, Reggie.
During a seven-game stretch from Feb. 19 to March 2, Evans went 2-for-18 from the field and was averaging 1.9 turnovers. But in 11 games since, the 32-year-old is averaging 8.6 points and 16.4 rebounds and shooting 53.1 percent from the field.
On Wednesday night, Evans scored a career-high tying 22 points and pulled down a career-high 26 rebounds. It was the first 20-20 game of his career. Evans leads the NBA with seven 20-plus rebound games this season.