Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki has a bruised right knee

The injury bug has bitten the Dallas Mavericks again. And this time its superstar forward Dirk Nowitzki who is on the mend.

A magnetic resonance imaging test conducted Tuesday morning in Dallas revealed that Nowitzki has a bruised right knee which occured early in Monday’s first-round playoff game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Nowitzki was injured when he slid on the floor, got up and hobbled around, but he remained in the game and scored 17 points while playing 38 minutes.

The Mavericks have listed Nowitzki as day-to-day, with hopes that he’ll be able to play when Game 3 of this best-of-seven series is played Thursday at 6 p.m. at American Airlines Center. The series is tied at 1-1, and the Mavericks have taken home-court advantage away from the Thunder.

But the Mavericks know if Nowitzki is unable to play Thursday, or if his mobility is severely limited due to the bruised right knee, that’s going to impact what they’re trying to accomplish going forward.

“Dirk suffered a bruised right knee on the play very early in the game when he slid and fell,’’ coach Rick Carlisle said. “This thing with Dirk now, we hope this is not something that’s going to cost him to miss any time.’’

Besides Nowitzki, the Mavs have a several players who are being cared for by the team’s medical staff.

▪  Point guard Deron Williams gutted it out and played 26 minutes and scored 13 points Monday while dealing with a sports hernia. His status for Game 3 is yet to be determined.

▪  The Mavs hope center David Lee can play Thursday after missing the first two games of the series against OKC with a partial tear of his right plantar fascia.

▪  Guard J. J. Barea anticipates playing in Game 3 after he sat out Monday’s contest with a strained right groin.

▪  Guard Devin Harris played 26 minutes Monday despite dealing with a torn ligament in his left thumb, and also a hamstring issue that has been dogging him for about two months.

“Lee’s doing a little better, Barea is making some improvements,’’ Carlisle said. “Deron Williams’ status is going to remain uncertain going forward.

“Harris, he got through the game last night. Everything considered, he’s playing extremely well with a torn ligament in his thumb, and he’s got a hamstring issue that goes back a couple of months that he’s nursing through, also.’’

Williams, who also had five assists in Game 2, was doubtful for Monday’s game. However, he said his issue is one of pain tolerance, so he played until the pain became unbearable, and left for good with 5:43 remaining in the third quarter.

“The fact that he was able to play (Monday) night, it gave us an opportunity to get off to a good start, and a good start gives you a chance to finish,’’ Carlisle said. “So that was a very important thing that he was able to do that.

“My hope is he’s going to be able to play on Thursday, but we’ll see.’’

That's the same hope the Mavericks have for Nowitzki. Now, it's just a wait and see game for the Mavericks -- with their medical staff playing the role of most valuable player.

This story was originally published April 19, 2016 at 3:18 PM with the headline "Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki has a bruised right knee."