Kristaps Porzingis returns to Dallas Mavericks on a night Dwight Powell’s season ends
Kristaps Porzingis played his first minutes in 2020, but the Dallas Mavericks could be without another key big man for the rest of year.
The high of the return of Porzingis, who missed the previous 10 games with a knee injury, came crashing down Tuesday night, first by an Achilles injury to Dwight Powell, and then later by the Mavericks’ 110-107 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers at American Airlines Center.
“It’s a somber night with Dwight’s situation,” Carlisle said of Powell after the game. “He’s one of the soldiers of this franchise. He’s a constant team-first guy. Guys like him define the culture we want here. It doesn’t get much tougher than this if it ends up being what we fear it might.”
Those fears were realized on Wednesday as the Mavericks confirmed that an MRI revealed that Powell had ruptured his right Achilles tendon during a non-contact play in the first quarter. That’s the same injury that sidelined teammate J.J. Barea last January. The typical recovery timetable is nine to 12 months, although Barea returned in about eight months.
Carlisle is buoyed by the fact that he feels Powell will return for next season. “We’ve seen how Barea recovered,” he said. The team said Powell is weighing his surgical options.
Powell had appeared in 40 games, starting 37 of them. He had been averaging 9.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per minutes per game.
“Obviously, prayers up to Dwight,” said teammate Luka Doncic. “He’s a great guy. He doesn’t deserve that. Off the court and on the court, he gave us a lot. He’s going to come back stronger, for sure. It’s tough, especially a guy like Dwight. He works his ass off.”
Porzingis makes his return
Aside from Barea, the other member of the Mavericks who might be able to understand what Powell is going through is Porzingis. The 7-foot-3 inside presence hadn’t played in an NBA game for more than 18 months after he tore his left ACL in February of 2018 while with the New York Knicks. “It looks like a bad deal for Dwight,” he said. “[We’re] keeping him in our prayers.”
As for his return from his most recent ailment, Porzingis’ presence was felt almost immediately on the defensive end. He had three rebounds and altered a couple shots in the first few minutes of action.
“Loved it,” Carlisle said. “His activity was real good.”
Porzingis’ shooting touch may take a little longer to return. He was 4 of 17, including 1 of 8 from three. But Carlisle isn’t concerned about that.
“His rhythm will come back quickly,” he said. “Considering the amount of time he was out, [he] got into a rhythm pretty quickly at the beginning of the year.” Carlisle said he liked Porzingis’ aggressive play. “It’s great to see him back out there, competing without apprehension.”
In all, Porzingis played 27 minutes. Carlisle said he expects to use Porzingis fewer minutes while he works his way back into game shape.
“I was eager to get back on the court,” said Porzingis, who finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. “It just sucks that we weren’t able to get a win. If I played just a little bit better, we would have won the game. This loss is on me. That’s how I feel. I know it’s my first game back but I have high expectations for myself, and I’m disappointed I wasn’t able to shoot the ball better.”
Porzingis wasn’t alone. The Mavericks long-range shooting was off. They shot a combined 27.9% from three, missing a total of 31 shots. Doncic was 3 of 12.
Doncic was one assist shy of recording his 21st-career triple-double, finishing with 36 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Doncic also missed five free throws, however, although one was intentional after he missed the first of two with the Mavs trailing by three with 7.4 second remaining.
“We win and we lose as a team,” Doncic said. “Sometimes, somebody is not going to have a [good] night.”
Dallas is now 27-16, however, they remain in fifth place in the Western Conference. They open a three-game road trip Thursday against the Portland Trail Blazers.
