Dirk Nowitzki took a lot of heat for his performance in the playoffs last season, when his Dallas Mavericks were eliminated in the first round by the Golden State Warriors.

To avoid suffering another blow at the hands of the Warriors, Nowitzki tried to make an early return from a leg injury, but unfortunately for the Mavs he's still not healthy enough to play Wednesday night when they host Golden State in a crucial matchup between Western Conference contenders trying to get back to the playoffs.

Nowitzki injured his knee and ankle on an awkward fall in Dallas' loss to San Antonio on March 23. The team said its leading scorer and rebounder would be sidelined indefinitely, with most estimates ranging around two weeks.

The reigning league MVP went through Wednesday morning's shootaround, but still felt the effects of the injury.

"The work today wasn't great," Nowitzki said. "I'm still sore in a couple of movements, so I really don't know what to tell you."

With a playoff spot on the line, however, Dallas (46-28) might not be able to afford to have Nowitzki miss any more time.

The Mavericks have fallen to seventh place in the loaded Western Conference race, a half-game ahead of the eighth-place Denver Nuggets and one game ahead of the Warriors (45-29), who would be out of the playoff picture if the postseason started today.

This game - the finale of the season series between these clubs - could give Dallas the playoff tiebreaker should it and Golden State finish with an identical record. The Mavericks won the first two meetings before falling 114-104 in Oakland on Sunday while playing without Nowitzki.

"We're in control of our own destiny. All we have to do is get better on defense and keep moving the ball on offense," said Mavericks coach Avery Johnson, whose team has split four games since Nowitzki went down. "If we can get some of the same performances we're getting out of guys now without Dirk, when he gets back, we can be a pretty good team."

Johnson was likely referring to Jason Kidd and Josh Howard, who stepped up as Dallas beat the Los Angeles Clippers 93-86 on Monday night. Kidd had 27 points and went 9-for-15 from the field in that game, and Howard added 25 points and eight rebounds.

"This was a big win on the road because of the position we're in," Kidd said after his highest-scoring game with the Mavericks. "...With Dirk out, I'm just looking to be more aggressive and look for my shot. The coach and my teammates have been encouraging me to be aggressive and maybe score a little bit more than in the past."

While each win counts in the tight playoff race, the Mavericks can't be encouraged that they're 0-10 against teams with winning records since acquiring Kidd from New Jersey in a blockbuster trade during the All-Star break.

That doesn't bode well for this game against Golden State. The Warriors, however, have merely split their last 12 games. They shot just 37.5 percent from the field and had their streak of 37 games with at least 100 points snapped with a 116-92 loss at San Antonio on Tuesday night.

Golden State hadn't been held to a double-figure point total since its 109-91 loss at Portland on Jan. 9.

"The shots they were giving us we could not make," Warriors coach Don Nelson said.

The good news for Nelson is that his club has dropped back-to-back games just once since it opened the season 0-6. The Warriors lost at Dallas on Jan. 2, then fell at home against New Orleans on Jan. 4.

Warriors captain Stephen Jackson, held to six points and 2-for-12 shooting in Tuesday's loss, is confident his team can bounce back again.

"This one was definitely tough, but we're a tough team," Jackson said. "We've got another game tomorrow and we've got to be ready to play that one. We still have a chance to get in (the playoffs) and our focus is getting in."