By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
SEATTLE – Attention NBA marketing Einsteins: Here's a slam dunk for you.
Dirk Nowitzki silver-plattered a sponsorship when he talked about the left ankle soreness he will have to live with throughout the playoffs, as well as in the final days of the regular season.
"The ankle's usually stiff when I wake up in the morning, but that doesn't matter whether I play a quarter or 38 minutes," Nowitzki said. "The pounding of an NBA game is tough on a hurt ankle like that. But it's nothing that a couple of Advils can't fix."
So there you have it. The key to the Mavericks' playoff hopes – ibuprofen.
Nowitzki and coach Avery Johnson have decided together that there is no need for Nowitzki to sit out the final game or two of the regular season. He was in his usual spot in the starting lineup Sunday against Seattle, less than 24 hours after playing 40 minutes against Portland.
But that game served a purpose, Johnson said. And Nowitzki was scheduled to play far less against the Sonics.
"We got him up a little last night, which was good," Johnson said Sunday. "He'll feel pretty good about playing 40 minutes. That's what he's going to have to do in the playoffs. We came out of that game really good with his ankle."
Nowitzki's high ankle sprain isn't going to get markedly better, so he didn't want to take off a full game.
"It's stiff once in a while on practice days or when I wake up in the morning, but during the games it's actually pretty decent," he said of the ankle.
"We talked a little bit about it, Avery and me, and the whole resting thing is overrated. I'd rather keep my rhythm. If I sit out one or two games, I still know my ankle won't be 100 percent. So I don't think it makes a difference if I sit out one game or play through it."
Injury update: Josh Howard returned from a sore right knee and started Sunday. He had seven points in the first nine minutes as the Mavericks bolted to a 23-11 lead.
Jerry Stackhouse, meanwhile, sat out his ninth consecutive game because of a right groin strain, but may return soon.
"He'll practice on Tuesday and play in our last home game," Johnson said.
On the job: Jason Terry had to get 60 tickets for what may be the last Sonics game in his hometown. He said that was down from a high of about 80 tickets.
Terry also enlisted owner Mark Cuban to help him get a piece of memorabilia from the arena, if indeed the Sonics move to Oklahoma City in the off-season.
Before the game, Cuban was plotting what he might pilfer from the arena as a memento for Terry.
Briefly: When Eddie Jones checked into the game, he double-checked to make sure his jersey didn't come off when he took off his warm-up pullover. That was what happened against Utah on Thursday. Jones had the jersey on; it just came off with the warm-ups.
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Nowitzki would rather play than sit
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