Mavericks Wood to miss several games with broken thumb

DALLAS (AP) Dallas Mavericks forward Christian Wood will miss several games with a broken left thumb.

Wood’s arm injury, which was not firing, occurred during the Mavericks’ 130-122 loss to Atlanta Wednesday night, the team said Thursday. He will be re-examined next week.

Wood winced in pain while holding his thumb at one point during the game, but did not go to the bench or the locker room.

The Mavericks have been dealing with injuries to several key defensemen for weeks, and now they won’t have a No. 2 scorer behind NBA leader Luka Doncic.

Wood, who was traded to Houston on draft night last summer, is averaging 18.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, trailing Doncic in both categories. The 27-year-old came off the bench to start the season before being named by coach Jason Kidd in mid-December.

Wood’s injury came on the evening that Dorian Finney-Smith, one of the club’s best defenders, and Josh Green returned after a long absence.

Finney-Smith missed 14 games with a right adductor strain, and Green, also known for his defense, was out in 20 games with a right elbow sprain.

The Mavericks lost six of eight games after a seven-game winning streak, the longest since the franchise’s only championship season in 2010-11.