21.03.2005

NEW ORLEANS (86) AT DALLAS (103)
Stats

Devin Harris had become lost in the rotation 
for the Dallas Mavericks.  With a rare opportunity to stand out,
he shined brightly.

Harris scored 12 of his season-high 17 points in a dominant
second quarter, when the Mavericks pulled away en route to a
103-86 victory over the New Orleans Hornets.

The 6-3 rookie has seen a sharp decrease in his minutes this
month as Dallas has relied heavily on veteran Jason Terry, who
began the season backing up Harris.

Given a chance to pick up his team after a lackluster first
quarter, Harris responded.  He converted a three-point play as
part of a 16-1 run to open the period and later hit a pair of
3-pointers, one with 13 seconds left to cap the Mavericks'
scoring.

"I was finally able to make a jump shot and that helped," Harris
said. "Some of the plays I got some good looks and knocked them
down.  Defensively, I just wanted to get after it."

In his previous seven appearances in March, Harris shot 4-of-26
(15 percent) and missed all nine of his 3-point tries.  He was
3-of-4 with a pair from the arc in the second quarter of this
one.

"I'm definitely getting my confidence back, especially
defensively," said Harris, who also had a steal and a block in
the second. "I was kind of getting after it.  I'm just working
on consistency right now.  Some games it's just not always
there.  I'm just trying to work to get better."

During what amounted to a 32-7 burst in the second, Harris and
Dirk Nowitzki scored nine points and Keith Van Horn added eight.

"Devin really came in off the bench," Van Horn said. "Guys
really pushed the ball.  We were aggressive defensively.  We had
both ends of the court going for us which hasn't always been
the case this year.  We really put it together here in the
second quarter tonight."

Dallas broke open a 20-20 game in the second period on 4-of-6
shooting from 3-point range and 12-of-14 from the line.  The hot
shooting gave the Mavericks a 56-35 lead at the half.

"We had one stretch where we got seven stops where they didn't
score and we scored on every possesion," Harris said. "That was
the key thing.  We haven't really been getting that lately."

Harris finished 3-of-3 from long range in 28 minutes, his most
since February 15.

Nowitzki scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the
Mavericks, who have won 13 in a row from the Hornets.

"This team has our number," said Hornets forward P.J. Brown, who
fouled out early in fourth with eight points. "They're a tough
team with offensive power and a lot of guys who can score with
the ball.  I thought out of the 13 (losses) this was one of our
worst ones.  I don't think we battled like we should have or
played like a team that had lost to another team 12 straight
times."

Michael Finley, who scored 16 points, drained a 3-pointer to
give Dallas its largest lead, 80-52, late in the third quarter.

Despite getting a season-high 27 points from rookie J.R. Smith,
New Orleans never threatened after the first quarter and fell to
4-29 on the road.

"I shot the ball pretty well tonight," Smith said. "Getting to
the cup, getting to the free-throw line.  I finally started to
make my free throws.  I'm just trying to help my team as much as
I can."

Smith scored 10 of the Hornets' 15 points in the decisive second
quarter.

"It was fun out there with a fellow rookie," Harris said. "He
took some good shots tonight and was able to knock them down."