By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The Dallas Mavericks must wait and see if Kristaps Porzingis can remain available moving forward after picking up a right ankle sprain in the loss versus the Cleveland Cavaliers Monday.
“He twisted his ankle. The X-rays were negative,” noted head coach Jason Kidd, “We’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”
The Latvian big man exited midway through the second half after piling up nine points, five rebounds, four blocks, and one assist over 27 minutes. He was limited to 4/12 field goals, including 0/4 from beyond the arc.
The Mavs will be back in action to start a home-and-away series against the New Orleans Pelicans Wednesday. They are set to visit the Smoothie King Center and then host the Pelicans a couple of days later.
Porzingis, 26, is likely to be listed as questionable but has a full day to heal up ahead of the trip to New Orleans. His NBA career featuring multiple injuries, mainly knee issues, can prompt the medical staff to be cautious before clearing him.
He has previously missed five games due to lower back tightness earlier in the 2021-22 NBA Regular Season. Over the remaining 14 fixtures, he registered 19.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.6 blocks, and 0.9 steals per contest.
Luka Doncic posted a triple-double with 25 points, ten rebounds, and ten assists, but Dallas was -20 with the Slovenian sensation on the court and was forced down to 10-9. The W-L tally ranks fourth in the Western Conference standings.
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