Devin Harris out, JJ to start

Devin Harris (left thigh contusion) won’t play tonight, but expects to return Monday against Houston. He talked about the knee he took from Hawks guard Josh Smith that knocked him out of the game in the second quarter last night.

“I tried to get out of the way,” Harris said. “I took the charge, but I didn’t take it square. I took a knee in the inside of my thigh, the one place I don’t have padding.”

Harris said his thigh is doing better, but he needs to watch for swelling the next couple days. No Harris means more is needed out of JJ Barea, who will share playmaking duties with Jason Terry. Look for Barea to start. Yes, JJ.

“He’ll play a little bit,” Avery Johnson said of Barea. “Jet will play. Everybody will have responsibility.”

By the way, Harris ran into Kings center Brad Miller in the Mavs weight room earlier. Miller, you may remember, knocked Harris over in that preseason melee that led to Josh Howard’s two-game suspension.

So what did Miller say? “Nothing,” Harris said.

Miller and Harris have quite a history, most of it involved Harris getting knocked out of games by Miller screens in the backcourt.

“I can blame my teammates for not calling out the screen,” Harris said with a laugh. “He just happened to be setting picks. In the preseason I just happened to be the person there when he turned around. You could say it was coincidence.”