Light Bulb 'on' in Mavs' Harris

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Every good player in the NBA had a moment in his career when he finally "got it."

Picking out that moment when it happens is almost impossible. Usually, you look back a year or two later and you can pinpoint when that player had an awakening about what it takes to be successful in the league.

Darrell Armstrong thinks Devin Harris' breakthrough came Saturday night, when the second-year point guard had 20 points in the fourth quarter.

"The first half was real bad for him," Armstrong said Monday. "I thought he came of age when he came back in the second half. I was waiting to see that. I wanted to see him have a bad first half and come back with a great second half. He finally did it. He came on strong."

Coach Avery Johnson had pulled Harris aside at the shootaround Saturday morning. It was then that he told Harris to push the ball and use his energy to his advantage while keeping with the pace of the game.

"Devin had some good recognition, but I thought he played really well on the defensive end, too," Johnson said. "It was his night."

Harris said he took Johnson's instructions to heart and hopes to build on his eruption against the Spurs. But as for saying he's arrived, he'll hold off on that pronouncement. But Armstrong won't.

"You got to attribute it to what Avery told him that morning," Armstrong said. "He said, 'I want you to push that ball.' And Devin did."

State(ment) of the union: Most people in the NBA think statement games can't happen until after the All-Star break. But Darrell Armstrong, who clearly is getting comfortable as a voice of the Mavericks, believes otherwise.

He believes Saturday's 19-point whipping of the Spurs was a significant message.

"You can send messages late in the preseason and early in the season," he said. "And what we did, I think, sent a message to San Antonio. We're going to be competing with them. Or ahead of them. That's what we want to prove, not only to them, but to the league. We're trying to do something special this season." </div>

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