Point made: Harris, Dallas Give it to the Spurs

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Point made: Harris, Dallas Mavericks take it to Spurs

12:10 AM CST on Friday, November 16, 2007
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
esefko@dallasnews.com

Apparently, Devin Harris has been the Tony Parker starter kit for long enough.

Playing against the MVP of the NBA Finals, Harris dominated. Either that or it was one of the slickest rope-a-dopes you'll ever see.

Parker and the San Antonio Spurs didn't seem particularly eager to unveil any sort of "A" game Thursday night. The Mavericks may have had something to do with that.

Undeniable was the strong first quarter that Harris had, leading the Mavericks to a big early lead. They then saw the point guard throw down a virtually perfect fourth quarter to cap a 105-92 lashing of the Spurs, who came in with the Western Conference's best record but looked very much like the same slow starters they have traditionally been.

Even with the arena looking like an oversized bowl of lime sherbet because of the team's "Green Out" promotion at American Airlines Center, the Mavs couldn't have suspected that this night was going to be such a sweet treat. Or that the defending NBA champions would be left green with envy.

But that's the way it worked out. The Spurs had nothing but praise for Harris, who had 18 points and five assists, but more importantly helped pester Parker into 1-for-11 shooting. Parker was 1-for-6 in the first quarter, when the Mavs rolled to a 33-18 lead.

"He's shown a lot more confidence," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "He's not worried about making mistakes. He's taking the open jumpers that are given to him and attacking the rim. He's always been a good defender, but I think he's shown a lot more confidence offensively."

It's exactly what Avery Johnson and his staff have wanted to see for the last two seasons. Harris had four points and four assists in the telltale opening quarter. The lead never dipped under double figures in the second half, largely because Harris was 6-for-6 and had 14 points and a steal in the fourth quarter.

"That's what we envisioned when we got together for our coaches' retreat this summer and talked about how we wanted him to play," Johnson said. "We want him to be terrific defensively on the ball, be a one-man fast break at times and run the team.

"He's got to continue to grow and put together games like this over and over again."

After this showing, Harris is averaging 14 points and 4.8 assists per game. He's shooting better than 50 percent (26-for-51) for the young season.

It's far too early to proclaim a changing of the guard in Texas. But Harris made a nice step in a game that may come in handy when tiebreakers and such come into play later in the season.

"I do my best to stay in front of him," Harris said of defending Parker. "It's not an easy job. He's just as quick as I am, and he's got some moves where he can get into the lane and get some fouls and whatnot, but tonight it just wasn't there for him."

The Mavericks went on a couple of scoring binges in the first half, 17-1 and 11-0, to go up by 19 points at halftime.

Tim Duncan had 24 points and Manu Ginobili had 25 for the Spurs. Josh Howard had 23 for the Mavericks, who had four players with 17 or more.

It was the kind of game that could be construed as a statement game, as a sign that the Mavs are over another little mental hump.

Or maybe not, Jerry Stackhouse said.

"How many humps do we need?" Stackhouse said. "We've taken all the lumps you can take."

As has Harris, who toiled as a part-time point guard before getting the full-time job this season.

"He's a captain this year, and he really set the tone for us," Nowitzki said. "He's probably our best defender on the perimeter, and I think he did a great job tonight fighting over screens and trying to stay with Parker and Ginobili. He's big for us."

www.dallasnews.com

[mqywaaah]

Yay!!

[chumdawg]

Harris absolutely brought the wood against the Spurs last night. In fact, I'm pretty sure that he sees Tony Parker and his Spurs as his personal whipping dog.

[ty]

"Statement made." - TO

[nowhereman]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

Point made: Harris, Dallas Mavericks take it to Spurs

Even with the arena looking like an oversized bowl of lime sherbet because of the team's "Green Out" promotion at American Airlines Center, the Mavs couldn't have suspected that this night was going to be such a sweet treat. Or that the defending NBA champions would be left green with envy.

how long do you guys think it took eddie to think of THAT?

p.s. did stackhouse use the words humps and lumps interchangably?

[Hoopster]

really?

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by nowhereman

how long do you guys think it took eddie to think of THAT?

I was going to make the same comment... Why do journalists (of every type) feel it's necessary to throw corny lines like this into their work? Green sherbert & green with envy? I bet he was up all night trying to think of that hook...

[G-Man]

I'll bet the Spurs are puke green with envy watching Devin surpass TP. They've got to be wondering how they'll handle the little guy after he's been leading the team for a full year. Or 5.

Would it not be cool if he turned out to be the kind of leader Isaiah Thomas was as a player? (not the crazy old man he is now) I mean the guy is just as tough, and has never shown any fear of taking it to any big guy under the basket. Only now, he's learned to lead with his shoulder and land on his ass so he doesn't take the brunt of their blows.

He was one of the few to stay tough through all 6 Miami games and all 6 GS as well, and his team mates know it. Back in the day, Ike's Pistons lost some tough playoff games before he led them to consecutive titles. Devin doesn't have the demeanor, but he makes everyone on the team better, he runs a dynamite fast break, dishes lightning dimes, and can dominate fourth quarters with his boundless energy. And when he drives, the jump shooters are wide open. He even made Ager look good.

He's the real deal. All he's missing is a chick even hotter than Eva.

[nowitzki_prophecy]

Devin Harris will be in the all defensive team at years end.

Just wanted to clear that out first,there's no doubt in my mind.
Other than that ,the man has quickness and athleticisem that dont shame Allen Iverson, and in fact i think its too bad we have to wait till december to see this match-up.
Howard on Carmelo would be nice too see too,he was great against SA but im happy we've come to such a day that its understandable and even taken for granted how good he played.
He much less relies on the 3 than last year which is excellent,it really annoyed me that such a gifted penetrater and finisher would relly too much on threes.He's penetrating alot more for the entire short season and i think we can see it as a mantra,for the entire team nontheless,we should go to the line more and punish from the inside.Howard also raised his FT percantage and quantity raising to 6.8 attempts per game with only 31.8 minutes per game.
Last season Josh played 35.8 minutes and stood on 4.2 attempts per game with worse percantages,he's capitalizing.The man averages 22.2 points on only 31 minutes of play!54 percant from the field,simply beautiful... i think we see alot of players, even senior players,knowing this is the season to step it up a notch.Even Dampier and Diop look very solid on the boards and defending TD.
We always had the talent,but now its all ripening.

[Mavs Rule]

Ha, check out this youtube video from some spur punk. Kinda funny, even though we kicked their ass!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpzjk...ad.php?t=78510