BARCELONA, Spain — A swollen right knee kept Dirk Nowitzki out of the Dallas Mavericks' 99-85 loss at FC Barcelona Regal Tuesday, with Pete Mickeal and Juan Carlos Navarro each scoring 19 points for the 17-time Spanish champion. After only leading by two points at halftime, Barcelona outscored the Mavericks 32-16 in the third quarter to open up an 18-point gap. Center Chris Kaman led the Mavericks with 15 points. Darren Collison was next with 14, and Elton Brand had 10. Nowitzki was expected to play but was ruled out just before tip-off. “Last year I dealt with (swelling in the knee),” Nowitzki said. “We did treatment twice and the swelling didn't come back. Hopefully it will respond next week and I can play through the year.” “It's unfortunate, I would have loved to play. But the preseason is not the time to force a swollen knee.” Two-time Euroleague champion Barcelona outrebounded the Mavericks 52-40, while Navarro hit five 3-pointers, two more than the entire Mavericks team. Kaman scored eight points in an evenly matched first quarter that ended with Barcelona ahead 21-19. Navarro assisted Nathan Jawai for a layup before hitting a 3-pointer to push Barcelona out to a 13-point advantage, forcing Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle to call his second time-out of the third period with 3:30 to play. Mickeal then scored inside the paint and Marcelinho Huertas hit a bank shot before Jawai added two free throws to push the lead to 18 points. “Today we played at a great level, with our heads held high and with a lot of motivation,” Mickeal said. The Mavericks used a full-court press to reduce the gap to six late on, but Mickeal hit back-to-back baskets to seal the win. The Mavericks beat Alba Berlin 89-84 Saturday in their first preseason match. The team now returns home to face Houston on Oct. 15 in Dallas and open the regular season at the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 30. McGrady joins Chinese team Seven-time NBA All-Star Tracy McGrady said he is headed for China to play for the Qingdao DoubleStar Eagles in the Chinese Basketball Association. The 33-year-old McGrady will be the highest-profile player in the CBA. Because he played with Chinese basketball star Yao Ming during their days with the Houston Rockets, he is already well known in China and his contract has been the headline news in China's major sports news sites. A woman who answered the phone Wednesday at the basketball club said she had no information. McGrady's announcement on his website Tuesday did not give terms for the one-year contract. Chinese media reports say the contract is worth at least $1 million. McGrady said he is excited to play for the Eagles in eastern China and that “it will be an honor” to play for the Chinese people. He played for the Atlanta Hawks last season but failed to secure an NBA contract for the upcoming season and was considering retirement when he was approached by the management of Qingdao. McGrady is the latest NBA player to seek a new chapter in China, following Stephon Marbury who led the Beijing Ducks to the CBA championship in the 2011-2012 season. “There are times in life that a new road presents itself and it appears this time has come for me now,” McGrady wrote on his website. Qingdao ranked the eighth in the 17-team CBA in the last season. — Agencies
