<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>PHILADELPHIA – The Mavericks were down to 10 healthy players for Monday's game against Philadelphia, and the number dwindled to nine before it was over. The injuries are becoming almost too much to overcome. The latest was to Josh Howard, who suffered a lower back contusion early in the fourth quarter when he hit the deck hard after getting bumped by Philadelphia's Reggie Evans on a rebound. Howard tried to come back briefly but couldn't. He was wincing as he tried to put on his socks and shoes in the locker room following the game. "I won't know until [today]," he said when asked if he thought he'd be able to play Wednesday against Portland. "We've got a long plane ride. We'll see how it feels." When Howard left the game, the Mavericks were down by six. When he tried to return, they cut the lead to 72-70. But with Howard joining Devin Harris (ankle), Erick Dampier (ankle) and Jerry Stackhouse (hamstring) on the sideline, the Mavericks simply were too undermanned to have a chance down the stretch. "We're going through a spell," Howard said. "We just need to win these next two games [vs. Portland and at Phoenix on Thursday]." Avery Johnson said he wants his team to resist the temptation to use the injuries as a crutch. While Howard's status is unknown, Dampier is the most likely of the other injured Mavericks to return during the two games before the All-Star break. "We don't care who's in uniform," Johnson said. "We have a high standard of excellence and how we want to play. But mentally and physically, we haven't been able to sustain throughout the whole game. We just haven't handled adversity well." Join the committee: Mark Cuban said he was bothered by the Lakers-Grizzlies trade that sent Pau Gasol to Los Angeles for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie and draft picks, widely regarded as one of the most one-sided deals in league history. "Yeah, it bothers me," he said. "I want to be on the same committee as [Gregg] Popovich." Popovich, coach of the San Antonio Spurs, said the league should have a trade-review committee and that he would have vetoed the Lakers-Grizzlies deal if he had a vote. More on the injury front: Dirk Nowitzki walked gingerly to the locker room less than five minutes into the game and had his back stretched for several minutes. He returned to the court, still doing toe-touches and rotating his back to keep it from stiffening up. With just under two minutes left in the first quarter, he went back into the game. "It was really stiff, and I couldn't get it loose," Nowitzki said. "So I had to come to the back and get it adjusted a little. Then it felt good. I didn't have any issues after that." An economy of syllables: Before Monday's game, Johnson was asked by a Philadelphia writer if he felt the need to make a trade to counter moves by the Lakers and Suns. "No," was the reply. There was no elaboration. Least of the East: The loss to Philly dropped the Mavericks to 12-11 against the Eastern Conference, including 5-9 on the road. They have lost twice to Philadelphia, New Jersey, Atlanta, Milwaukee and Washington, all sub-.500 teams.</div> Source: Dallas News
