Dallas coach Avery Johnson said Friday that Kevin Willis would be signed to a 10-day contract if he passes his physical.

"He'll be around our big guys at practice to bang on them," Johnson said. "Hopefully we can get him in good enough shape to play in an emergency and maybe give us a couple of fouls."

Kevin Willis will go through the second of two workouts with the Mavericks on Friday and he may just make the club.

"My brother kept saying it was over," Willis said Thursday after a workout with the Mavericks. "But I kept telling him something might happen."

Willis worked out for more than an hour Thursday and emerged with a good sweat and positive feeling about the chances of a 44-year-old being able to contribute to a championship team.

"I haven't played," Willis said, "but if I get a couple pints of oxygen, I'll be all right."

The Dallas Mavericks were scheduled to audition veteran forward Kevin Willis for the first of two workouts Thursday in an attempt to fill a vacant roster spot, according to a published report.

Mavs coach Avery Johnson told the Dallas Morning News that he has been looking to add another big man to the roster but concedes there is a possibility he won't sign anybody at all.

"Right now, it's kind of the best available person," Johnson told the newspaper. "I'm real leery about adding anybody right now. But if there's something that makes sense, we'll do it. But it's got to really make sense for us."

Dirk Nowitzki, who came into the evening needing 18 points to reach 15,000 for his career, scored 13 in the first eight minutes, but had only 17 when he left for the evening.

He departed with 3:42 left in the second quarter when he stepped on a Milwaukee player's foot. Nowitzki played the first few possessions of the third quarter, but could not move well enough to continue and left for the locker room.

"Basically, the bone spurs jammed together," Nowitzki said. "I tried to walk it off, but it wouldn't loosen up.

Dirk Nowitzki left the Mavericks' 105-103 win over the Bucks with 10:56 remaining in the third quarter and did not return.

The 7-0 forward was taken to the locker room with 3:42 remaining in the second quarter after stepping on the foot of Milwaukee center Brian Skinner and rolling his ankle. He attempted to return after the half, but left the game for good after just one minute.

Kevin Willis is 44 and hasn't played since the 2004-2005 season, but will be brought in by the Mavericks for a workout Thursday to find out if he might be a viable option for their vacant roster spot.

Desmond Mason will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and the prospect of playing for his hometown Mavericks is appealing to the swingman.

"Yeah, if all the stars line up and it works out that way, that would always be a consideration," Mason said before Tuesday night's game against the Mavericks. "I've become friends with a lot of their players. If everything was to work out, it would definitely be a consideration."

The Mavs nearly drafted Mason in 2001, but went with Courtney Alexander instead.

Mark Cuban was in New York to watch his Mavericks defeat the Knicks on Tuesday.

Speaking on recent penalties to Bobcats part-owner Michael Jordan and Celtics GM Danny Ainge for publicizing their interest in Texas freshman Kevin Durant, Cuban said: "I think it's great. From my perspective, if you start making an amateur player into a brand and start defining their value, then I think you attract all the people to basketball that we're trying to get rid of."

Dirk Nowitzki, who is still hearing criticism for his performance during a 129-127 double-overtime loss to Phoenix last week, admitted that he gets tight during pressure situations.

"I think everybody who says they don't get tense, they're lying," Nowitzki said following Monday's practice.

"It's big games. You got to find ways to stay loose and relax. I've been doing a decent job of not letting the pressure get to me and still enjoying the moment."

Greg Buckner missed the Mavericks' game Friday night against Boston because of a sprained left knee that will sideline him indefinitely.

Buckner sustained the injury in the fourth quarter of Wednesday night's 129-127 double overtime loss to the Suns. Buckner also missed two games in late February with a bruised left knee.

"I don't know how long he'll be out,'' Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said before Friday night's game. "It could be two days, it could be a week or 10 days.''