Mavs' injuries have reached the absurd with stars Irving and Davis already sidelined

DALLAS (AP) — Dwight Powell walked to the bench with blood streaming down his forehead while teammate Kessler Edwards lay flat on his back holding his head.

The Dallas Mavericks have lost Kyrie Irving to a season-ending knee injury, and there's no timetable for Anthony Davis' return after the star forward injured a groin in his Dallas debut following the stunning trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The latest might be the lowest for the Mavs. They finished a 125-116 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday with just seven healthy players, and that was with Edwards getting back on the floor with a bandage over his left eye.

Dallas began the game with nine active players, and was down to seven after the heads of Edwards and Powell collided as they chased a loose ball late in the third quarter. Both needed stitches, coach Jason Kidd said.

Powell never returned after getting treated on the bench to stop the bleeding and going on to the locker room. About the time Kessler came back in the fourth quarter, guard Brandon Williams was ruled out with left hamstring tightness.

Caleb Martin was playing for just the second time since returning from a right hip sprain that sidelined him going back to before the trade that brought him from Philadelphia last month. Dante Exum has been nursing a right foot injury. Both were on minutes restrictions.

“We had no subs because of the time restrictions on two,” Kidd said. “We're trying to figure it out as we go.”

Oh, and the Mavs have to play again Monday night in San Antonio. Kidd seemed sure nobody was coming off an injured list that also includes P.J. Washington Jr. (ankle), Kai Jones (quadriceps) and Jaden Hardy (ankle).

There are more. Those are just three with any kind of a chance to return soon.

“We're probably going to have seven, eight at the most,” Kidd said of the first of consecutive road games against the Spurs.

Naji Marshall had a career high for the second consecutive game with 34 points and played more than 40 minutes for the first time in his career. He wasn't even one of the three who played the entire fourth quarter.

“Honestly, I haven’t,” Marshall said when the fifth-year pro was asked if he had seen anything similar with injuries. “But this is our job. All those guys in the front office signed all of us on the roster hoping that if we had to play we could fill the shoes of the next man. I’m just going to keep doing that until those guys get back.”

Besides Irving and Davis, the longer-term injured list includes centers Daniel Gafford (knee) and Dereck Lively II (ankle) and Olivier-Maxence Prosper (wrist).

It's possible all five won't play again this season for the defending Western Conference champions, who will have a hard time holding off Phoenix or possibly others for 10th place, the final spot in the West play-in tournament.

Suns star Kevin Durant had 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as Phoenix pulled within 1 1/2 games of the Mavs.

“It’s definitely one of the first I’ve seen where they’re just straight injuries and not tanking,” Durant said. “Guys are genuinely injured for longer than a couple of weeks. It's sad to see a lot of players out.”

After the game, Kidd was asked jokingly about whether he and assistant coach Jared Dudley could provide any minutes off the bench. Kidd was a Hall of Fame point guard, and Dudley is just four years removed from his playing days.

“I don't think we can do that,” Kidd said. “We can't sign anybody. It does cost too much. You've gotta laugh because if you don't, this will drive you crazy.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

An open cut is seen on the eye of Dallas Mavericks forward Kessler Edwards after he collided with teammate center Dwight Powell during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns Sunday, March 9, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Dallas Mavericks players, from left, Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II, Jaden Hardy, and P.J. Washington wear street clothes as they watch the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns Sunday, March 9, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Dallas Mavericks forward Kessler Edwards, left, and center Dwight Powell react after colliding while chasing a rebound against the Phoenix Suns during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 9, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Dallas Mavericks forward Kessler Edwards, left, and center Dwight Powell react after colliding while chasing a rebound against the Phoenix Suns during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 9, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

MUMBAI, India (AP) — Shreyas Iyer was provisionally named in India’s squad on Saturday for the home one-day international series against New Zealand starting Jan. 11.

India will host the Black Caps in a white-ball engagement — three ODIs and five T20s — in the build-up to the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Iyer returns to the international fold after sustaining a spleen injury during an ODI against Australia in Sydney last October.

His selection is subject to fitness clearance from BCCI’s medical team and he will return as India’s vice-captain for the three-match series.

Skipper Shubman Gill also returns, after he missed the ODI series against South Africa in December. He had a neck spasm in the test series earlier, and subsequently played in the T20s against the Proteas.

Ruturaj Gaikwad and Tilak Verma missed out. Gaikwad had scored a maiden ODI hundred against South Africa in Visakhapatnam.

Rishabh Pant is retained as second keeper-batter behind Lokesh Rahul, who had stood in as captain against the Proteas.

Star batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had both participated in the domestic List A tournament — Vijay Hazare Trophy — and return to the international stage for the ODIs.

All-rounder Hardik Pandya is fit, but not sufficiently enough to bowl 10 overs in an ODI. Thus, he has been rested further ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup (in India and Sri Lanka) starting Feb. 7. Nitish Kumar Reddy is included in the squad.

Pacer Mohammed Siraj returns to lead the bowling lineup with Jasprit Bumrah rested again. Siraj had missed the South Africa series because of workload management.

The three ODIs will be played in Vadodara (Jan. 11), Rajkot (Jan. 14) and Indore (Jan. 18), with the five-match T20 series starting Jan. 21.

Squad: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

FILE - Captain of Punjab Kings Shreyas Iyer addresses a news conference on the eve of the final match of Indian Premier League at Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad, India, Monday, June 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki, File)