Dwight Powell

Powell went down in agony late in the first quarter at American Airlines Center and had to be helped back to the locker room.

The center will undergo an MRI scan on Wednesday and the Mavericks are fearing the worst, having only just welcomed Kristaps Porzingis back from a knee injury.

"It's a sombre night with Dwight's situation," Carlisle said. "He's going to have an MRI.

"Right Achilles injury feared to be severe, but we won't know for sure until the diagnostic tests are done. It's a real tough one."

Carlisle added: "He's one of the soldiers of the franchise really. But he's an upbeat guy. And if the news ends up being the worst news, we've seen how [J.J.] Barea recovered [from a right Achilles tear suffered last January].

"So, Dwight will get back there. But we don't know yet."

The Mavericks (27-16) are fifth in the Western Conference after a four-match winning run was ended by the Clippers (31-13).

The Mavs did not provide a time frame was provided for Powell's return, but it is feared the injury will end his season.

The second-round pick out of Stanford went down in the first quarter of the Mavs 110-107 defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday, his leg giving way as he drove to the basket.

Powell was averaging 9.4 points and 5.7 rebounds in 26.5 minutes per game for Dallas, who are on course to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 with a 27-16 record.

The 28-year-old was expected to play an important role for Canada in the June qualifying tournament for the 2020 Olympic Games.