Mavericks’ Chandler Parsons feeling more confident after solid outing

It’s been a challenging proposition at best.

But Chandler Parsons can see the fruits of his labor coming together almost on a daily basis.

In Friday’s 97-88 triumph over the Memphis Grizzlies, Parsons enjoyed his most productive all-around game of the season. The five-year veteran finished with 16 points, a season-high seven rebounds, a season-high seven assists, and also picked up his sixth steal of the year while playing a season-high 32 minutes.

It was the type of impact game Parsons had been waiting for since returning from the hybrid microfracture surgery he had on his right knee May 1.

“This whole thing has been just a learning curve for me and teaching me to be patient,” Parsons said after Sunday’s practice at American Airlines Center. “I do my rehab and my workouts religiously, and I just continue to stay confident.

“There’s going to be ups and downs, there’s going to be bad games, there’s going to be good games. But I have great teammates around me, great trainers, everybody believes in me and I just continue to work hard and not settle.”

Parsons remains under a minutes restriction. But not even he knows for sure what that number is.

“Some of the recent games that have been very positive games are the result of a lot of hard work, and you’re seeing it today,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s doing extra sprints [after practice] with Dirk [Nowitzki], and this is what it’s going to take to get through this.”

Those extra sprints have been valuable tools for Parsons as he tries to get his game back to where it was before he suffered the knee injury.

“It’s a challenge every day to come in and continue to work and continue to get better,” Parsons said. “Games like the other night are huge signs for me going forward.

“The biggest thing now is to keep building on it and play [31] minutes with no pain and no soreness the next day.”

Evans shines

Carlisle traveled to Frisco on Saturday and watched Jeremy Evans help take the Texas Legends to a 124-111 victory over the Reno Bighorns.

Evans again asked Carlisle if he could step down to the NBA D-League so he could work on the nuances of playing small forward. That conversation impressed Carlisle.

“The whole concept of him asking to go down there to work on his game is unprecedented,” Carlisle said. “Again, I hope other NBA players see his example and understand that the development league is a great tool to improve your game and improve your value in this league.”

In 35 minutes Saturday, Evans scored 25 points, collected 11 rebounds, handed out four assists and was 10 of 20 from the field and 3 of 6 from 3-point range.

Harris hobbled

Guard Devin Harris went through portions of Sunday’s practice, but there’s no word on if he’ll be ready to play Tuesday at Toronto.

Harris sat out Friday’s victory over Memphis after he strained his right hamstring during Wednesday’s loss to Indiana.

“He’s doing better, but I don’t have a timetable,” Carlisle said. “I don’t have an idea when he’s going to be available. It’s certainly not serious, but he will be listed as questionable at best for Tuesday.”

The Mavs (15-12) play in Toronto at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

This story was originally published December 20, 2015 at 7:36 PM with the headline "Mavericks’ Chandler Parsons feeling more confident after solid outing."