Originally scheduled to miss only four games with a sore right knee, Dallas Mavericks star forward Dirk Nowitzki could possibly be out longer, he said Thursday. Nowitzki, who will miss his fourth game against the Utah Jazz on Friday, spoke to the media for the first time since being sidelined and said he's making progress. Nowitzki said a decision on his return will be made closer to game time before Sunday's matchup against the San Antonio Spurs. Coach Rick Carlisle said Nowitzki has spent the week mostly working off the court to strengthen the knee and improve his overall conditioning. Nowitzki said he focused heavily on weight lifting and running, and on the court focused on bending his knees and getting his legs back under his shot. "I feel better. I think it was definitely a good week for me to work on some stuff that I wasn't able to work on when I had some trouble with my knee," Nowitzki said. "We were always shooting for Sunday, so we'll just take it day by day and see how these next two days of training go and keep pushing myself, twice a day. But that's where my head is, hopefully Sunday, and we'll go from there." Read more: http://espn.go.com/dallas/nba/story...vince-carter-return-friday-dirk-nowitzki-hold
