Mavericks concerned about Monta Ellis injury; doubtful for Sunday

It looks unlikely that Monta Ellis will suit up for the Dallas Mavericks Sunday. The guard left Friday's loss to the Spurs after suffering a right calf injury. 

"He's on crutches, which is never good," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle told reporters Saturday. "So he appears to be very doubtful for tomorrow. We don't think it's serious. But we are concerned."

The Mavs, losers of three of their last four, fly from San Antonio to Indianapolis Saturday for Sunday's game against the Indiana Pacers.

Ellis has the second-longest active games played streak in the NBA at 237, behind Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan. It dates back to the 2012-13 season opener. His streak and the fact he leads the Mavericks in scoring won't stop Carlisle from being careful with the regular season winding down. 

"We're not going to do anything foolish in terms of rushing him back until he's absolutely ready," Carlisle said Saturday. "I trust (Mavericks trainer) Casey Smith and I trust Monta too to be reasonable about this. He knows how important he is to us. We can't take a foolish risk at this point."

It sounds like Ellis will be out for a few. He's averaging 19.1 points and 4.2 assists on 44.4 percent shooting this season. Following Friday's loss, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban voiced his displeasure with the lack of calls coming Ellis' way.