Armstrong OK after Mavs' 85-71 loss
By RACHEL COHEN / The Dallas Morning News
Coaches have nightmares like this: In a meaningless regular-season finale, a meaningful player tumbles to the floor in pain.
But Darrell Armstrong's sprained left ankle looked scarier than it was, he said after the 85-71 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday night at American Airlines Center.
The veteran guard expects to play in Sunday's playoff opener against the Memphis Grizzlies. Losing Armstrong would have further thinned the Mavericks' point guard depth with Devin Harris' status uncertain.
For the second straight game, Harris didn't play despite coach Avery Johnson previously saying that he would. Harris' strained left quadriceps hasn't recovered after hard practices as well as Johnson would like.
Depending on how Harris responds to Friday's workout, he may play Sunday.
"Sometimes, when a player has a lot of pressure on him, you don't always get exactly how they're feeling, because they want to tell you what you want to hear," Johnson said.
In the second quarter, Armstrong rolled his left ankle as he tried to block a shot. He went flying into the stands and immediately grabbed the ankle, his face twisted in pain.
Armstrong was walking without crutches later.
Before the game, Armstrong and Josh Howard stood at midcourt to thank fans for their support. Armstrong, who had jabbed the Dallas faithful with his "How about those Redskins?" comment in December, had tape covering his mouth. But he removed it and shouted, "How about them Dallas Mavericks?" to great applause.
The Mavericks finish with 60 wins, tying the franchise record. Johnson downplayed the importance of getting 61.
"Fifty meant a lot," he said. "Fifty-five meant a lot. Sixty meant a whole lot."
Briefly: Dirk Nowitzki got the night off. ... Johnson said that Keith Van Horn, out since March 31 with a broken right hand, will be on the Mavericks' 13-man playoff roster, indicating that Rawle Marshall and Pavel Podkolzin would be the odd men out.
Podkolzin, the second-year 7-5 Russian playing for the first time this season, had three points, seven rebounds and a block in 18 crowd-pleasing minutes. He missed both field goal attempts.
Adrian Griffin needed two stitches in his upper lip but returned. Marquis Daniels (left hamstring) sat out.
The Mavs nearly saw their string of consecutive games with a 3-pointer broken, but center DeSagana Diop hit the first of his career with 56.6 seconds left to extend the streak to 610 straight.
Dallas tied a franchise low with six assists. The 71 points were a season low.
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