If the inclusion of the fifth-year point guard on that list seems a bit surprising, well, that's basically been the story of Harris' season.

Entering Saturday's play, among players who appeared in at least 50 games last season, Harris had made the largest climb in scoring average from 2007-08. His 9.7-point gain is the only gain beyond eight points in the league, with Indiana's Marquis Daniels second at 7.8.

"Well, first, he's getting a great opportunity here and they've developed a very unique system for him, and it allows him to get in the paint and make some plays, and he's got great speed," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "And I think the ball is in his hands a lot more than it was in Dallas."

Harris pushed his scoring average to 24.5 with a 41-point effort Friday night against Dallas, the team that thought it had heisted Jason Kidd from the Nets at last season's trading deadline in exchange for Harris.

"I'm a different player than I was," said Harris, who has consistently been making defenses pay with an upgraded jump shot. "Here, I have to make them pay and stretch the defense more."

Unlike Kidd, who often was scoring-challenged during his Nets tenure, Harris has been sparking the NBA's highest scoring backcourt, combining for a 47.5 average with Vince Carter. Second on that list entering Saturday night was the Heat's combo of Wade and Mario Chalmers, at 38.4 points per game.

Much of Harris' offensive gain has come from the foul line, where he has gone from 4.7 attempts per game last season to 10.4 this season. Only Orlando's Dwight Howard is attempting more.

Spoelstra said the Heat was aware of Harris' possibilities when it faced the Mavericks in the 2006 NBA Finals.

"He was one of our main, primary keys to that series, to keep him out of the paint and keep him from creating pick-and-roll opportunities for [Dirk] Nowitzki," Spoelstra said.

With his 41 points and 13 assists Friday against the Mavericks, Harris joined Wade and San Antonio's Tony Parker as the league's only players to go for at least 40 and 10 in a game this season. Wade did it with 40 points and 11 assists in a Nov. 19 loss to Toronto, while Parker had 55 points and 10 assists in a double-overtime victory over Minnesota on Nov. 5. Further, according to Elias Sports Bureau, Harris' Friday effort represented the most assists ever in a 40-point regulation game for the Nets, surpassing the 12 in a 42-point game by Kenny Anderson against Washington in 1994.

Ira Winderman can be reached at iwinderman@SunSentinel.com

Late game

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