DALLAS _ If you were wondering whether the addition of one bench player can make a big impact on a struggling NBA team, the Mavericks gave you the answer Saturday night.
If Devin Harris made this much of a difference, imagine what it will be like when Dirk Nowitzki returns later this month, most likely.
And certainly, the Mavericks don't want to find out what life without Luka Doncic could be like.
The Mavericks didn't resemble a 3-8 team coming in against the red-hot Oklahoma City Thunder, winners of seven in a row. They played one of their best first halves of the season, led by 24 points and then persevered through a rugged second half for a 111-96 victory at American Airlines Center.
For perspective, they didn't win their fourth game last season until Nov. 22, when they were 4-15. At the least, they restored some hope on Saturday.
Until, Doncic went down late in the third quarter, clutching his right knee and limping badly.
He left the game, but, with a limp still noticeable, came back midway through the fourth quarter and scored an important bucket as the Mavericks steadied themselves.
Crisis averted, apparently.
Harris, meanwhile, was on the court to start the second quarter and the Mavericks turned a one-point lead into a 35-26 advantage. That sparked them out to the 24-point cushion that they nursed for the rest of the night.
In this, his 15th season, Harris had an "interesting" 10 games watching his teammates from the bench since his hamstring strain in the season opener. He finally got back against the Thunder, but the time off had some therapeutic value for Harris, who says coaching could be in his future.
Over the last three weeks, he saw his teammates struggle. And also saw his coach, Rick Carlisle, try to deal with it. He watched games from both a player's and a coach's perspective.
"I've kind of been forced to in our situation just trying to help get everybody on the same page, what I see as a player, what I see that the coaches want and try to mend that together," the veteran guard said Saturday morning. "I see what drives coach crazy sometimes, but I also see the players' frustrations. It's been an interesting 10 games."
There's still pain in his hamstring, but it's tolerable. And the medical staff is convinced there is no concern of aggravating the injury.
He had six points, three assists and three rebounds in a very efficient 12 minutes against the Thunder.
As for returning to the court, he said: "It's been very frustrating. Obviously we're not playing our best ball. We've been struggling in some areas that I think I can help in. We just got to play harder and play smarter at times."
Give Harris and the Mavericks a big check mark in that regard. They had been a turnover machine for the last four games but had only a dozen of them by the midpoint of the fourth quarter, when Doncic's bucket put them ahead 103-86.
Nowitzki, meanwhile, said during an appearance on the telecast of Saturday's game that he's feeling much more optimistic about returning at some point perhaps before November is done from the ankle surgery and subsequent foot soreness that he's been fighting.
He has yet to make his debut for season No. 21.
"The last week or 10 days have been encouraging," he said. "Unfortunately this took way, way longer than expected. I just had some inflammation in the tendon. And every time we stepped it up, I had a setback. But the last 10 days have been encouraging.
"We'll probably add a little more side-to-side stuff and maybe even get a little practice in and see how it responds."
