The Dallas Mavericks delivered a statement victory over the defending NBA champions the San Antonio Spurs. Led by Josh Howard, who scored 18 of his 23 points in a decisive first half, the Mavericks beat the Spurs 105-92 on Thursday night, in an early season Southwest Division showdown.

"They're a great team, they're a championship team, but we wanted to come out and make a statement tonight," Howard told reporters after the game. "It was a conference game, the league is wide open this year and we want to be a confident team."

Devin Harris is back in business and scored 14 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter for the Mavericks (6-2) who had a 52 per cent field goal percentage. Jason Terry also scored 18 points off the bench while reigning league MVP Dirk Nowitzki chipped in with 17 points and eight rebounds.

Another key element of the victory was the responsibility of Devin Harris to contain the also speedy guard Tony Parker. The MVP of the NBA Fianls made just one-of 11 shots for seven points.

"I do my best to stay in front of him," Harris said. "It's not an easy job. He's just as quick as I am, and he's got some moves where he can get into the lane and get some fouls and whatnot, but tonight it just wasn't there for him."

The Mavericks showed they were there to make a statement and scored early and often to build a 33-18 advantage after the first quarter. In the second they went on a 11-0 run over a three-minute span to push the lead to 19 points and at the half time the score board was showing 59-40.

The Spurs made considerable efforts to cut the lead but Dallas never allowed it to dip below 10 in the second half.

At the end of the third quartet the Spurs closed in to 80-70 on Brent Barry's three-pointer, but Harris made all six of his field goals along with both free throws to give the Mavericks their fourth straight win on road.