Big Blow: Mavs Center Dwight Powell Out For The Season After Rupturing Achilles Tendon
UPDATE: Injured Mavs Center Dwight Powell Undergoes Surgery
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM/AP) - The Dallas Mavericks announced Wednesday center Dwight Powell suffered a rupture of his right Achilles tendon during Tuesday night's game.
He will miss the rest of the season.
Powell is currently weighing his surgical options and updates will be provided as appropriate, the team said in a news release.
Powell went down with a non-contact injury with 2:57 left in the first quarter. He was helped to the locker room putting no weight on his right leg.
Teammate J.J. Barea – who tore his right Achilles tendon last season – was distraught as Powell was taken off the court.
Powell is expected to be out for a significant amount of time, but the team has not said exactly how long.
Powell, in his sixth season in the NBA, has averaged nearly 10 points and six rebounds a game in 39 previous games. He had increased his scoring average over each of his first five seasons.
Powell has played all but five of his 371 career games for the Mavericks, arriving from Boston in a five-player trade in December 2014 that also brought point guard Rajon Rondo. Rondo's style clashed with Carlisle, but Powell's energy and productivity in the paint has made him a favorite of the coach.
Led by second-year sensation Luka Doncic, Porzingis and guard Tim Hardaway Jr., the Mavericks (27-16) started the day fifth in the Western Conference.
The loss of Powell could influence what Dallas does before the February 6 trading deadline. He has been a strong pick-and-roll partner for Doncic and other Dallas point guards.
The Mavericks start a three-game road trip Thursday in Portland.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)