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League-leading Mavericks hope to have Nowitzki vs. Knicks

Mar 30, 2007 - 2:19 PM New York (31-40) at Dallas (60-11) 8:30 pm EDT

DALLAS (Ticker) -- Without Dirk Nowitzki, the Dallas Mavericks still tied their franchise record for wins. The New York Knicks needed Stephon Marbury just to say afloat in the playoff race.

After notching their 60th win, the Mavericks may be without Nowitzki when they take on the injury-riddled Knicks on Friday.

Nowitzki is having arguably the best season of his career and is a leading candidate for Most Valuable Player honors as Dallas continues to roll through the competition in a tough Western Conference.

But the German superstar rolled his left ankle with 3:42 remaining in the second quarter in Wednesday's 105-103 victory over Milwaukee. He scored 17 points in 16 minutes before departing.

Despite the injury to its star, Dallas still was able to match its franchise record for wins set twice this decade, including last season.

The Mavericks enter this contest in the midst of an eight-game winning streak.

New York has been ravaged by injuries to key players, including guard Jamal Crawford (stress fracture ankle), forward David Lee (ankle) and forward Quentin Richardson (back).

It got worse Wednesday when guard Steve Francis went down with an ankle injury in the first quarter. But backcourt mate Marbury save the game for the Knicks, nailing two 3-pointers down the stretch en route to a 97-93 win over Cleveland.

New York tied Indiana (31-40) - 1 1/2 games behind Orlando (33-39) - in the battle for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East.