Kings at Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks are suffering through a porous, injury-filled season and the latest player to go down is starting center Andrew Bogut. The defensive-minded big man hyperextended his right knee during Monday's 109-101 loss to the Charlotte Hornets and joins power forward Dirk Nowitzki (Achilles) and guard J.J. Barea (calf) on the sidelines for Wednesday's home contest against the Sacramento Kings.
The Mavericks felt they were a playoff contender prior to the season but the repeated absences have curtailed all attempts to get their season going. "It seems like we get someone back, and somebody else goes down," point guard Deron Williams, who missed time with a calf injury earlier this season, told reporters. "It's definitely been tough. We'd really like have Dirk out there and J.J., but you can't control certain things so we've just got to keep on trucking." The Kings are concluding a five-game road trip and dropped their last three games, including Sunday's 106-98 loss to the New York Knicks. "We've got to figure out a way to win games," point guard Darren Collison said afterward. "Everybody deals with the same situation. We could have won that game. I don't think nobody's legs were tired. We played hard, but we've still got to try to win that game."
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, CSN California (Sacramento), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE KINGS (7-13): Sacramento shot a season-worst 32.3 percent in Sunday's loss and standout center DeMarcus Cousins was a porous 9-of-30 from the field despite scoring 36 points. The Kings were in each game of the losing skid - including an overtime loss to the Washington Wizards - but late-game miscues continue to be an issue for the club. "It's tough," Cousins said after the loss to New York. "I don't really think it's a correct answer for that. Most guys, adrenaline gets going in those last couple of minutes. You're going to find out who has the most heart in those last situations."
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (4-16): Bogut's absence will be at least three games long but coach Rick Carlisle presented an optimistic view after the training staff reviewed X-rays of the knee. "My understanding is that this is not going to be terribly serious," Carlisle told reporters on Tuesday while revealing the team is waiting on the results of an MRI exam. "He's going to miss some time. We'll probably know better in a day or two how much time." A serious injury would derail a possible trade of Bogut as the Mavericks were expected to begin shopping the veteran with their season continuing to disintegrate.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Kings won three of four against the Mavericks last season.
2. Dallas SF Harrison Barnes scored 29 points in the loss to Charlotte for his fifth 20-point outing in the past eight games.
3. Sacramento SF Matt Barnes is wanted for questioning in an alleged assault, stemming from an incident at a New York nightclub following Sunday's loss to the Knicks.