Posted on Tue, Mar. 25, 2008

NBA Notebook | Injuries sideline Mavs' Nowitzki

DALLAS --

Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks is out indefinitely with a high ankle sprain and a mildly sprained knee.

It's a blow to the Mavs' title hopes -- and perhaps their chances of making the playoffs. The team announced the diagnosis Monday, the day after the reigning most valuable player was injured against the Spurs. "This is probably the most painful time to miss games," he said. "That's very discouraging."

Medical staffers can't even set a rehabilitation plan until the swelling is gone, which will give them a better feel for the damage. Nowitzki is getting around in a protective boot without crutches. -- associated press

Around the league

INDIANA: Donnie Walsh's career with the Pacers will end after this season, giving the operation of the troubled franchise a single voice under Hall of Famer Larry Bird. "Now it's one voice; it's mine," Bird said. "Pressure is pressure. I've dealt with it in the past, and I'm looking forward to it."

The team's CEO and president since 1988, Walsh, 67, said he would step aside after his 24th season with the Pacers. He was expected to sign a three-year, $15 million contract with the New York Knicks to oversee their basketball operations, ESPN.com reported, citing unidentified sources. What would happen to the Knicks' Isiah Thomas was not known, ESPN.com said. A Knicks spokesman would not comment on the report.

Walsh, a former Tar Heels player and South Carolina assistant who joined the Pacers as an assistant coach in 1984, became general manager in '86 and president two years later. He hired Bird as coach in '97, and after Bird moved into the front office three years later, Walsh groomed him as his successor.

Starting with the brawl involving Indiana players and Detroit Pistons fans, the past three seasons have been littered with losing records, personnel changes and off-court issues that have damaged the team's once-shiny reputation.

MILWAUKEE: Guard Charlie Bell tore a ligament in his right knee and will miss at least two weeks, breaking a string of 191 consecutive appearances. -- observer news services