Kristaps Porzingis said after going through practice on Monday he expects to play Tuesday against Brooklyn, barring any setbacks in his recovery from a left knee contusion.
The news is less clear for Luka Dončić, who also went through practice, but did not address the media about his left knee soreness.
The Mavericks were without both Dončić and Porzingis in the 97-90 loss to Memphis on Saturday.
Porzingis has sat out the last two games because of the knee problem that occurred Wednesday when he bumped knees with New Orleans center Jonas Valanciunas.
“I’ll get some more treatment today,” Porzingis said Monday. “It’s feeling pretty good. I’m hoping tomorrow is even better and I’ll be good to go.”
That’s encouraging news considering that the knee swelled up badly enough to wake Porzingis from his sleep the night that the incident happened.
“I knew it wasn’t anything (major),” he said. “I kept playing. But then I went to sleep that night and woke up in the middle of the night and my knee was swollen and hurting like crazy. And I’m like, something happened.
“And then the next morning my knee was really swollen. We started working on the swelling and after four or five days, it’s good now.”
Asked if sitting out two games was more precautionary than anything else, Porzingis said: “I couldn’t move. I couldn’t do anything in the weight room. I was limited because my knee was swollen. So as soon as we controlled the swelling, I still feel it from the contusion, but at least now I’m getting movement.”
The Mavericks are 3-4 this season in games Porzingis has missed. They are 0-4 when Dončić does not play.
Coach Jason Kidd said the Mavericks are hoping for the best for both players, but that no status update will be known until Tuesday.
“They both practiced and did good,” Kidd said. “As you know, things change, people practice and sometimes are out. I can answer it better tomorrow. But they participated. They did everything they could.”
Twitter: @ESefko
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