Nowitzki joins Mavs' long injury list with right knee bruise

DALLAS — German basketball star Dirk Nowitzki has been added to the long injury list for Dallas in the playoffs.

 

Coach Rick Carlisle said Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) that Nowitzki bruised his right knee when he fell early in the Mavericks' 85-84 Game 2 win over Oklahoma City in a first-round playoff series that is tied 1-1.

 

Carlisle said he hoped the extra day off between games would boost the 7-foot German's chances of playing in Game 3 on Thursday (Friday in Manila) .

 

"He's a great player who's been a big part of any success we've had this year," Carlisle said of his 37-year-old leading scorer. "Without him we wouldn't be in the playoffs."

 

Nowitzki scored 17 points on 7-of-19 shooting to help the Mavericks bounce back from a 108-70 loss in the opener.

 

He joins a list of players who might miss Game 3, including starting guards Deron Williams and JJ Barea and backup forward David Lee.

 

Williams is dealing with a sports hernia injury that will require offseason surgery. He had an effective first half in Game 2 on Monday but left in the third quarter and didn't return. Barea (right groin strain) missed Game 2, and Lee has yet to play in the series because of a right heel injury. Lee has targeted Game 3 for his return.

 

Guard Devin Harris is playing with a torn ligament in his left thumb, and Carlisle said he came through Game 2 in decent shape. It's hard to say the same for the Mavericks as a whole after an improbable win that kept them in the series.

 

Dallas went into the series without another starter in versatile forward Chandler Parsons, who is out for the season following the second surgery on his right knee in less than a year.

 

"We know from a manpower standpoint we're at a pretty big disadvantage," Carlisle said. "And we know we're not going to outrun or outdunk or outskill these guys. We've got to play a working man's, grinding, highly intelligent game and hang with them."