Top two battle it out without Dirk

It has been confirmed that Dirk Nowitzki will miss his 2nd straight game tonight vs the Spurs due to his knee injury. It is also only his 34th regular season game that he's missed in 13 years of playing. He practiced lightly this morning, walking back to the locker room with a limp. It is uncertain when he will play, as he is taking his injury day to day.

"It's not time for him to go back out there yet," Carlisle said. "He's doing better each day, but he's not ready."

Shawn Marion is likely to start again in his place.

Without Dirk on the floor, Brian Cardinal is likely to get more playing time. He played well during Tuesday's loss to the raptors, scoring 8 points [all from beyond the arch], and 7 rebounds, all within 21 minutes.

Without Dirk, the Mavericks are going to have to give it all they got with an immense team effort to beat the 1st place spurs. I'm sure the Spurs are going to try to take advantage of the Dirkless Mavs as much as they can.

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