Dirk Nowitzki Out of Action With Lower Back Pain

The Dallas Mavericks don’t know how long they’ll be without Dirk’s services after last night’s injury in Memphis. From the Star-Telegram: “Two games into their nine-games-in-12-days journey across the United States, the Mavs are already down 0-2. One night after losing at home to the lowly New Jersey Nets, the Mavs flew into Memphis and got whacked upside the head by the Grizzlies, 96-85, Wednesday night at the FedEx Forum. More importantly, the Mavs lost 11-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki for an unknown period of time. Nowitzki played just 9:39 and went to the locker room for good with 11:09 left in the first half with tightness in his lower back. Without Nowitzki, the Mavs, who have lost four of their past five games, struggled to stay in the game and eventually wilted down the stretch for the second straight night. ‘He had a back issue and he felt something in warmups and tried to play,’ Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. ‘He clearly wasn’t moving the way he need to be moving, so we pulled the plug. So he’ll get treatment and we’ll see where we are Friday [in New Orleans].’ Nowitzki finished with just one point, and his only field-goal attempt was blocked by Marc Gasol. With Nowitzki, Delonte West (finger) and Lamar Odom (personal reasons) out, the Mavs are three men down, and it showed Wednesday.”