Sluggish second half costs Sixers in loss to Nets

The 76ers have run out of energy, answers, and most recently, winning performances.

Coming home after a 2-6 road trip, the Sixers followed a solid first half with two sluggish quarters in Tuesday night's 109-89 loss to the rejuvenated Brooklyn Nets at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Sixers are 15-21 overall and 3-12 in their last 15 games. And there is no time to lick their collective wounds with a game Wednesday in Toronto.

The Sixers trailed just 48-47 at halftime, but the Nets began the third quarter on an 18-2 run to immediately put the game away.

By the end of the third quarter, the Nets led by 83-61 and the Sixers must have felt as if they were back on the road after being showered by boos from the crowd of 16,167.

"As I said [Monday], we were an incredibly tired team and we played that way today," Sixers coach Doug Collins said.

His postgame news conference was brief, although Collins supplied one nugget: He was as silent in addressing the team afterward as the players were in their second-half performance.

"I didn't say anything," Collins said. "I let them speak."

What can they say at this point?

Jrue Holiday led the Sixers with 19 points and eight assists, yet he pointed the finger clearly in his own direction when talking about the second-half collapse.

"I think starting the second half, I didn't come in with the energy like we did in the first," said Holiday, who had seven points and two assists after intermission. "They made some plays, but if I was more alert or had more of an effort, maybe that could have stopped some of that."

Former Sixer Reggie Evans had a major impact even though he scored only two points. Evans hauled in a career-high 23 rebounds.

Evans has survived through the years on hustle and grit, two things missing from his former teammates on this night.

There is something about the Sixers that brings out the best in Evans. His previous career high was 22 rebounds in a win over the Sixers in 2010 while playing for the Toronto Raptors.

"When you are in a zone you are in zone," Evans said. "You don't get all of them but will get a majority of them."

The Nets are 20-15 and 6-1 since coach P.J. Carlesimo replaced the fired Avery Johnson.

Nets point guard Deron Williams had 22 points. Forward-center Andray Blatche scored 20 after being questioned earlier by Philadelphia police in connection with an alleged rape early Tuesday at the Four Seasons Hotel in Center City. Blatche was released with no charges filed against him, police said.

The Sixers will head to Toronto looking to improve on their second-half woes. They will also take a four-game losing streak. In those four defeats, they have been outscored by 56 points in the second half.

"Basketball is a game of runs," said Evan Turner, who scored eight points for the Sixers. "As a team we have to stay confident and try to get back on the right foot."