The way Matt Harpring has been playing of late might not help the Utah Jazz get into the postseason, but it certainly can't hurt his offseason.
Not that the soon-to-be-free-agent, who put his value on display recently, is thinking about summer yet.
"We're still alive. We've won two in a row," Harpring said after the Jazz's 110-93 victory over the struggling Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night at the Delta Center. "You never know what could happen."
Thanks in part to Harpring's 29-point explosion, the Jazz improved to 37-39 to pull within 2 1/2 games of the Lakers and Kings for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. And his 11-for-16 shooting performance came a night after he scored 15 in a win over Minnesota.
Harpring also had six assists and five rebounds against Portland. Perhaps the most intriguing statistic from the weekend, however, could be found in the minutes played column. In the two games, he logged 70 minutes and four seconds.
Due to a right-knee injury and doctor's orders on limited playing time, that's the first time all season he's been able to contribute significantly (30-plus minutes) on both ends of a back-to-back situation.
Earlier this season, Harpring registered a DNP six times on the second night of quick-turnaround games.
Harpring called that situation "a little bit frustrating." He also said it was hard to have to sit out the fourth quarter of a few other games because of playing-time restrictions. In retrospect, he believes it was for the best.
"I'm glad now looking back because my knee's feeling good," he said.
His shot sure is as well. Harpring hit a sizzling 46 of 65 attempts in the past six games, all of which he's scored in double figures.
The only thing that slowed him down in that stretch was a sprained left knee, which forced him out of the April 1 game against Portland.
"He's had his moments. He's shooting the ball well and rebounding," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, who was as impressed that Harpring had a few quick assists when he re-entered the game with 25 points in the fourth quarter.
Andrei Kirilenko said he thought Harpring did an excellent job of making the Trail Blazers pay for guarding him with smaller guys like Jarrett Jack, a 6-3 backup guard, and Voshon Lenard, who's 6-4.
"He's awesome," Kirilenko said of Harpring. "He takes advantage of every single position he got. . . . He can post up all night."
That, Kirilenko added while smiling, apparently has earned Harpring the nickname "Inside Banger" by teammates.
"That's the advantage of this lineup — pick your poison," Harpring said, referring to the Jazz's tall lineup that has so much height that 6-9 Kirilenko often plays shooting guard.
Harpring got razzed a bit by his teammates for not reaching the 30-point mark Saturday. However, he easily could have accomplished that in the final seconds. With the game clock ticking down, he had a clear path to the basket after Kirilenko hucked him a pass just past halfcourt.
Knowing the game was all but over — not to forget Kirilenko caused a bit of a stir for dunking in the final seconds against Portland the last time they played — Harpring pulled up and ran the clock out instead of getting a meaningless bucket.
"It was tempting," he said with a grin. "But it's not the right thing to do."
Sloan actually went out of his way to apologize to Portland coach Nate McMilian for Kirilenko's dunk, which came in a blowout last week.
"I don't think so, either," Sloan said when told what Harpring had said about not shooting. "I'm glad he used good judgment."
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