Caron Butler's Season Could Be Over

Caron Butler could miss at least a couple of months -- and possibly the rest of the season -- with a serious knee injury suffered Saturday night in Milwaukee.

The Dallas Mavericks won't make an official announcement until reviewing Butler's MRI results, but a source close to the injured forward confirmed to The Associated Press that the initial diagnosis is a torn patellar tendon.

Butler has averaged 15.0 points in 29.9 minutes a game this season. He scored a season-high 30 points against the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday, one game before suffering the injury.

No matter how long he's sidelined, Butler's injury is just the latest obstacle for the short-handed Mavericks. Shawn Marion returned Sunday after missing a game with a thigh contusion, but Dirk Nowitzki is still day-to-day with a sprained knee. The Mavericks have lost three of four in Nowitzki's absence.

The loss of two starters forced coach Rick Carlisle to get creative with his lineup Sunday in Cleveland. Marion, who's come off the bench in all but five games this season, started at power forward. Jason Terry started his sixth game of the year at shooting guard, pushing DeShawn Stevenson to small forward.

Stevenson told Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News that he couldn't remember the last time he played small forward. "It's tough, but Shawn [Marion] will step up, and we all just have to hold the ship together," Stevenson said. "We have to try everything."

Despite the recent slide, the Mavericks still have a 25-8 record, trailing only the Spurs for the top spot in the Western Conference.

"I've been in situations like this before several times, and when you lose key players, everybody's got to raise their level and the collective spirit and unity has to get even stronger," Carlisle said. "You got to find a way to battle through it. It's not easy.

"We're going to have to be ready and play well and have a lot of guys produce for us in a lot of different roles."

The Mavericks recalled Dominique Jones from the Texas Legends to take Butler's place on the active roster. He scored nine points in the win over the Cavaliers. Jones, who saw spot duty off the Mavericks bench early in the year before being assigned to the Legends in late November, clearly benefited from his D-League assignment, where he averaged 18.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists over 10 games.

After a two-game road trip, the Mavericks kick-off a three-game homestand this week, hosting the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday, the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday and the Orlando Magic on Saturday.