Dallas Mavericks center Daniel Gafford has sustained a Grade 3 right MCL sprain and will miss at least 6 weeks, sources tell me and @espn_macmahon. Gafford, Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II now expected to be out significant stretches of the second half of the season. pic.twitter.com/FJxd2xK9NY

The Dallas Mavericks received an unwelcome update on Thursday, with a report that center Daniel Gafford won't be back for at least six weeks due to a ligament sprain in his right knee. The Mavericks were already down several other big men,

And then in Monday's loss to the Sacramento Kings, Gafford joined his front court partners on the injury list when he went down with a knee injury in the second quarter as he set a screen for Spencer Dinwiddie and collapsed on contact.

The Dallas Mavericks hosted the Miami Heat on Thursday. The Mavericks had a home-court advantage. The Heat might’ve been affected by jet lag, as the Heat’s most recent game was a 115-101 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Paycom Center on Wednesday.

The Miami Heat head to American Airlines Center to face the Dallas Mavericks in a non-conference matchup. The Heat are 25-27, which puts the team in seventh place in the Eastern Conference. The Mavs are 28-25, which puts the team in eighth place in the Western Conference.