On a night when the Dallas Mavericks welcomed back one of their starting big men, the franchise was dealt a serious blow when another big man suffered what may be a season-ending injury.
Kristaps Porzingis returned to the starting lineup Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Clippers after missing 10 games with right knee soreness. But that good news took a back seat to a debilitating injury suffered by Dwight Powell, who injured his right Achilles late in the first quarter of the 110-107 loss to the Clippers.
When Powell went down in a heap on a non-contact play as he started a drive to the basket from the right side with less than three minutes left in the first quarter, the American Airlines Center sellout crowd of 19,783 went virtually silent.