DALLAS – It was only 69 seconds. That’s all it took for Dallas Mavericks backup guard Devin Harris to make a major difference in Wednesday’s 119-113 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
From the 9:24 mark of the fourth quarter until there was 8:15 remaining in the game, Harris went on a personal 8-0 run that snapped an 87-87 tie and pushed the Mavs ahead, 95-87. It was one of those game-changing runs where Harris did some of everything.
The 15-year veteran started the rally by connecting on two free throws, and then he picked up one of his four steals. That was followed by another charity toss by Harris, a 3-pointer, a steal and an eight-foot bank shot.
Harris’ performance enabled the Mavs, playing in front of a sellout crowd of 19,926 at American Airlines Center, to win for the fifth time in their last six games and stretch their record to 8-9. It also was the Mavericks’ fifth straight win at home and helped take some of the sting off of Monday’s 98-88 loss in Memphis.
“I was just out there trying to make plays,” Harris said. “Obviously it was a big win for us tonight, especially after losing our (four-game) winning streak (Monday) night.
“It was good to come out there and protect home court.”
Harris wound up scoring 18 points in just 18 minutes as he helped pick up the slack for starting point guard Dennis Smith Jr., who was limited to just 19 minutes because of a sore right wrist (his shooting hand).
“Yeah, he can’t shoot,” coach Rick Carlisle said, referring to Smith. “He wanted to play and he took on the toughest defensive matchup to start the game (in guarding D’Angelo Russell).
“I thought he did good things in a difficult situation. He is almost a 40 percent 3-point shooter and he just can’t shoot 3s right now.”
While Smith was in pain, Harris converted 4-of-7 shots — including 2-of-5 baskets from 3-point range – and got the big salute from Carlisle when he broke down his personal 8-0 run.
“It was great and probably was one of the big reasons we were able to win the game,” Carlisle said. “We actually got down during the stretch, but he made two or three amazing effort energy plays, got the ball into the basket a couple of times, got to the free throw line when we were struggling to get shots and it was a throwback kind of deal tonight.
“He was absolutely gassed by the time he came out. I supposed we could have gone back to him (late) in the fourth, but felt that if we could avoid it, it would be best.”
Guard J. J. Barea also filled in admirably for Smith. The 13-year veteran tallied 18 points, handed out seven assists and fashioned a very solid floor game.
Barea, though, acknowledged that the bouquets from this game should be tossed in the direction of Harris, who returned on Nov. 10 after missing 10 games with a strained left hamstring.
“He was awesome, and he’s been awesome since he came back (from a hamstring injury),” Barea said. “He’s a smart player defensively and offensively.
“He really had a great game tonight and we needed it.”
Harrison Barnes led the Mavs with a game- and season-high 28 points, Luka Doncic collected 21 points and nine rebounds, Maxi Kleber scored 11 points, and DeAndre Jordan registered his 11th double-double of the season as he finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds.
After that breakout 69-second stretch by Harris, the Nets (8-11) inched to within 117-113 of the Mavs with 17.5 seconds remaining following a 3-pointer by D’Angelo Russell. But Dorian Finney-Smith tacked on a pair of free throws shortly thereafter to salt this game away and send the Mavs into the Thanksgiving holiday on a positive note.
“I’m just trying to get back in the swing of things and find my rhythm,” Harris said. “Obviously I missed the first 10 games and I’m trying to catch up to the rest of the team from a conditioning standpoint.
“I’m kind of pressing a little bit, but tonight it was good to find my rhythm and see the ball go in the hole a little bit.”