DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks advanced to the second round of the NBA Playoffs to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder, but they'll be missing one of their crucial role players.
Maxi Kleber will reportedly be sidelined indefinitely and possibly miss the remainder of the Mavs’ playoff run due to a third degree dislocation of the AC joint. The Mavericks confirmed the injury Sunday. Kleber was injured in the second quarter of Friday's playoff game against the Clippers. He will be re-evaluated in three weeks, the team announced.
Shams Charania, Senior lead NBA Insider for The Athletic and The Stadium, was first to report the news of Kleber's injury. ESPN's Tim MacMahon also reported Kleber would miss significant time.
When asked after Game 6 last night about his level of concern regarding Kleber's injury, Kidd said, "next man up."
Kidd said he didn't have a sense at the time of how long Kleber would be out.
Kleber left Game 6 in the first half with a shoulder injury after being upended during the first half by center Ivica Zubac and guard Amir Coffey. Kleber was fouled on the play and briefly stayed in the game to shoot his free throws, then was subbed out and went back to the locker room. Kleber did not return.
Kleber averaged 55.6% (10-of-18) from 3-point range in the series against the Clippers and was a premier defender for the Mavericks in the front court and on the wing.
Dallas starts its second round series against Western Conference No. 1 seed OKC Thunder on Tuesday, May 7. Here is a full breakdown of the series schedule and TV info.
Tickets to Games 3 and 4 are available for purchase. We broke down the the cheapest ticket prices here.
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