When the New Jersey Nets dealt future hall of famer Jason Kidd last season they got a younger, quicker point guard in return.
Devin Harris may not have a hall of fame career ahead of him, but he certainly looked like an All Star on Saturday night at EnergySolutions Arena. The 25-year-old got the better of Jazz star Deron Williams by scoring a game-high 34 points during the Nets' 105-88 victory. Then again, Harris admitted that it wasn't a fair battle considering that Williams is in just his third game back from an ankle injury.
"(Williams) is on a bum leg," said Harris. "He can't move as good as he normally does, so I just wanted to attack him and keep him at a distance."
It worked to perfection, as Harris led the Nets to a 59-51 halftime lead with 19 points before the break.
"What I do best is attack the basket, getting into the lane and creating some havoc," said Harris. "Tonight I was able to get some shots to go early and get into a rhythm and it carried on through the second half."
Harris added 15 additional points in the third and fourth quarters. New Jersey pulled away to hand the Jazz their second home loss of the season and their worst setback at EnergySolutions Arena since last April.
Williams admitted that he had his hands full on Saturday.
"It was tough to stay in front of (Harris)," said the Jazz point guard. "They just cleared out for him and Vince Carter and those guys are tough. They did a great job of executing every time down the court and getting high-percentage shots and we couldn't stop them."
"(Harris) was outstanding," said Nets coach Lawrence Frank. "He had an unbelievable 'attack-the-rim' mentality. Rack it, so to speak. He set a great tone, both him and Vince (Carter)."
Carter, the Nets' veteran shooting guard added 24 points on the night to give New Jersey 56 points from its starting backcourt. By comparison, Utah's guardline of Williams and Ronnie Brewer combined for just 20 points.
While Frank was pleased with the play of his guards, he also saw positive things from the rest of his team as well.
"You don't beat a good team like Utah without everyone contributing," said Frank, whose club improved to 8-7 with the victory.
While acknowledging that the Jazz weren't at full strength, what with All-Star power forward Carlos Boozer (strained quad) among four Utah players out with injury, Frank was still impressed by his team's heart.
"We've got an unbelievable amount of respect for Utah. You don't beat Utah just by suiting up five guys," said Frank. "You have to earn the win against Utah. Our guys played their tails off to get that win." E-mail: lojo@desnews.com
