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OKLAHOMA CITY -- Dallas Mavericks guard Delonte West is ill and might miss Saturday night's Game 1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

After Saturday's morning shootaround, Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said West is dealing with a stomach illness and was vomiting Friday night after the team arrived at its hotel.

Losing West would serve as a major blow to Dallas, particularly on the defensive end.

West, the starting shooting guard, would have first crack covering explosive Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook, and also would see significant time defending the league's leading Sixth Man of the Year candidate, James Harden.

"We've got a Plan B," Carlisle said. "I'm not going to get into the details of it. We'll see where he's at game time. Other than that, we're ready to go."

You can read the rest of the story here.

DALLAS -- The “West willy” provided plenty of punchline fodder.

The league office didn’t find it too funny, deeming it a $25,000 offense, but a lot of folks laughed after watching Delonte West intentionally poke his left index finger into Gordon Hayward’s ear. Hey, it’s easy to see the humor in such a bizarre act on the basketball court.

But there’s a serious side of the story that has nothing to do with basketball.

It’s about a man who battles bipolar disorder and struggled to emotionally deal with the recent death of his grandmother.

“Already … i dig ya … but G’s cry too,” West tweeted in the wee hours of Friday morning, the day the rest of his family gathered for his grandmother’s funeral.

That was hours after the Mavs’ victory over Golden State, a game in which West played poorly and picked up a technical foul for arguing with officials in the first half. He bounced back with 21- and 20-point performances in the Mavs’ next two games, but West acknowledges that it was a tough road trip from an emotional standpoint, which was the root of his regrettable incident.

“That’s something that me and coach (Rick) Carlisle talked about, just trying to find things that trigger and jump into other things,” West said. “That type of situation that happened, I think that might have (been) a trigger point that took me from one extreme of happiness to more of a depressed state. I reacted with anger and kind of exploded a little bit.”

The conversation with Carlisle helped get West, who takes medication to help control his condition, back on an even keel.

As much as he wishes he could have said goodbye to his grandmother, West has no regrets about his decision to remain with the Mavs on the road trip while the team fought for playoff position. He said that choice was “not hard at all” because it’s what his grandmother would have wanted him to do.

“I was just thinking about what my grandma would tell me,” West said. “She'd tell me, 'Don't cry; give me my roses when I'm alive.' You know what I mean? She's in a better place, a place we all trying to get to. So she'd be disappointed if I was running around here pouting with my face poked out. … I know she'd tell me to get my butt back on that basketball court, so it was an easy decision.”

Easy decision during an extremely difficult time. That’s no laughing matter.

DALLAS -- Delonte West forgot all about his surgically repaired right ring finger as he blew by his man and threw down a two-hand dunk with a little more than three minutes remaining in the Mavs' 110-100 win over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.

“Pain is a hell of a reminder,” West said.

But pain isn’t necessarily a deterrent, at least not to a competitor like West.

West, who missed 21 games after his gruesomely broken bone popped out of the skin on Feb. 15, clutched his right hand frequently for the rest of the game and admitted afterward that the pain was pretty intense. However, the lefty guard said he won’t hesitate to dunk with both hands again if he thinks that’s the right play to make.

“Not at all, man,” said West, who scored 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting in 21 minutes. “Go hard or go home, man. These type of games, every possession is important. You’ve got to go to the basket strong.”

Coach Rick Carlisle acknowledged that he cringed when West went up with both hands. Carlisle mentioned to West that it might not be wise to have his right hand crashing into the rim, but he was quickly interrupted by Jason Terry, who pointed out that West only knows one way to play.

Carlisle realized immediately that Terry was right about West, whose toughness and intensity are primary reasons that he’s a key role player for the Mavs.

“The only way he knows how to go is all out,” Carlisle said. “That’s who he is. If we try to take that away from him, even with a busted hand, he’s not going to be the same player.”

DALLAS -- It's been a rough day for Delonte West's left ankle.

He has turned the ankle twice today. His status was in question after he stepped on a basketball during shootaround, but he had a productive first half, scoring six points and dishing out two assists in 12 minutes.

Then West turned the ankle again, walking slowly into the locker room after suffering the injury in the final minute of the first half.

West landed awkwardly on his left foot after a nice drive past Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge for a layup. He stayed down on the baseline for several seconds and limped into the tunnel with a trainer behind him after getting up.

UPDATE: West returned for the second half.

DALLAS -- Delonte West doesn't want to watch any more games from the bench. He's already missed a third of the season due to a gruesomely fractured right ring finger.

Now West is dealing with a fluke ankle injury, but he hopes it won't cost him any time. He's testing the ankle on the Mavs' practice floor, but he plans to play, as evidenced by the padding he put on underneath his jersey.

"These games are too important right now," said West, the Mavs' primary point guard while Jason Kidd recovers from a strained right groin. "I also don't want to hurt my team trying to be Superman."

The Mavs won't have Ian Mahinmi, who is out Friday night for the delivery of his first child. Coach Rick Carlisle said he hopes Mahinmi will rejoin the Mavs for Saturday's game in Memphis.

West has been getting treatment on his left ankle since the morning shootaround. He turned it when he landed on a ball after shooting a jumper.

"Unfortunate kind of deal," West said. "I was shooting a jumper, and the ball just came out of nowhere. I came down on it and tweaked my ankle."

Our weekly look at which Mavs stocks have risen and fallen the most:

STOCK UP
Delonte West – He’ll deal with significant pain in his surgically repaired right ring finger the rest of the season, but West is back and played a major role in the Mavs’ last two wins. He’s the starting point guard with Jason Kidd sidelined by a strained right groin, a stint that started in the fourth quarter in Orlando, when West scored seven of his 15 points and dished out two of his five assists in that comeback win. After an off game in the lopsided loss to the Clippers, West bounced back by scoring 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the win over the Grizzlies. West, whose on-the-ball defensive ability lightens Shawn Marion’s load, has done a tremendous job taking care of the ball despite being limited with his taped and padded right hand. He has only three turnovers in 86 minutes over the last three games.

STOCK DOWN
Vince Carter – Carter’s scoring averaged has dipped below double digits and he’s been especially inefficient this week. He has a total of only eight points on 3-of-15 shooting in the two games so far on this homestand. It’s never a good thing when a starting shooting guard has more fouls (four) and as many turnovers as points over a two-game span. The 35-year-old Carter has been struggling since the All-Star break, averaging 7.9 points on. 349 shooting in that span, significant drops from his pre-break numbers of 10.9 points on .442 shooting. If Carter doesn’t snap out of his slump soon, it’s likely that West will start at shooting guard once Kidd returns.

Our weekly look at Mavs newcomers:

DALLAS – There is no doubt that the Mavs will put Delonte West to good use when he returns from a fractured right ring finger, which will probably happen in the next week.

PODCAST
Mavs G Delonte West dishes on his trip to the zoo, how close he is to returning to the court, sympathizing with Lamar Odom and more. Listen

The question is how coach Rick Carlisle will opt to use West.

Will West start in the backcourt with Jason Kidd? Will he spell Kidd off the bench? That might depend on the matchups each night, according to Carlisle. The coach recognizes that the starting lineup with Vince Carter at shooting guard is the Mavs’ best plus-minus unit, but he also knows that Shawn Marion could use a break from chasing around all those quick point guards.

“There’s a lot of possibilities when you get a guy like Delonte back because he’s a two-position player,” Carlisle said. “His presence can impact other positions. More than anything, we’ve got to get him healthy first and then it will lighten Marion’s load defensively.”

West was coming off the bench when he suffered his gruesome injury on Feb. 15, when the bone popped out of the skin after he tried to make a steal against the Nuggets. He had told Carlisle that he enjoyed playing point guard with the second unit.

But West, whose return could significantly cut Rodrigue Beaubois’ playing time, isn’t picky about which position he plays or when he’ll get his minutes.

“I’ll play backup center if it’ll help this team win games,” West said. “That’s all it’s about. It’s not about scoring points. The All-Star game is over with. It’s about winning basketball games.

“We’re kind of talking too soon. We’ve got guys that are playing well. We’ve got a nice rotation. Even with me coming back, for the moment, my job is to root guys on and keep them motivated. I got to be the best guy at that and do my part. We’ve all got a part to do. Whatever they give me or whatever it is, I’m going to do it at the best of my ability.”

In West’s mind, his role isn’t about playing point guard or shooting guard, starting or coming off the bench. It’s about his mentality.

“I’m a guy that gets in there and gets after it [on] defense” West said. “I try to get some momentum plays and just create tempo.”

It's up to Carlisle to figure out how best to implement West's skills, intensity and intangibles.

DALLAS – The Mavericks’ roster is close to being whole again.

Center Brendan Haywood and guard Delonte West participated in Monday’s practice and will be listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game against the Houston Rockets. Haywood (sprained right knee) has missed the last five games. West (fractured right ring finger) has been out since Feb. 15.

“We didn’t do a lot of live contact things today, but they went through a lot of other stuff,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “So they’re inching closer.”

Haywood’s status for Tuesday’s rematch with the Rockets will likely be determined after shootaround. West realistically won’t be ready until at least Thursday’s game against the Miami Heat.

West, whose bone popped out of the skin when he was injured trying to make a steal against the Nuggets, said he might not be able to return until next week. He knows he’ll have to deal with significant pain.

“I ain’t going to lie to you, that [expletive] hurts,” West said. "I guess it’s the mental thing of just feeling like you’re not going to break it again. Ever time you take some serious contact on it, pain is a rude awakening for you. But like I say, the more I do it, the more I dig in the rice bucket, and work on it, crank on it, get the motion back, the more I’m able to do.

"I think maybe a nice, solid, good week of theraphy and strengthening, I should be back out there."

DALLAS -- Delonte West can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but he still doesn’t have a target date for his return from a gruesomely fractured right ring finger.

West got the pins removed from the surgically repaired finger Friday. He’ll have another X-ray early this week and hopes that shows significant enough bone growth for him to return to practice.

“I’ll probably have a solid week of on-court conditioning and ball movement and moving this hand and see where we stand,” said West, who has been out since Feb. 15. “I’m not sure about my ability to get back just yet, but if it was up to me, I’d be trying to suit up tonight.”

The fingers in West’s right hand, which had been in a cast for a month, are extremely stiff. He hopes that stiffness subsides in a matter of days.

West averaged 8.3 points and 3.4 assists in 22.7 minutes during 29 games before he was injured. He plays both guard spots and provides a defensive tenaciousness that the Mavs have missed.

Rodrigue Beaubois has excelled in his expanded role recently, so coach Rick Carlisle could have some difficult decisions to make about the rotation when West returns. That’s a problem the Mavs look forward to having.

DALLAS – Delonte West knew the second that he looked down and saw the bone in his right ring finger popped out of the skin and shaped like a Z that he’d be out a while.

West, who missed most of last season in Boston because of a broken wrist, never wondered, “Why me?” The only question in his mind: “How long is it going to take to get back?”

West, who has given the Mavs valuable minutes at both guard spots, hopes the answer is only a few more weeks. He expects to get the pins out of his surgically repaired finger later this week and begin working out again after the All-Star break.

“I’m left-handed, so that’s not preventing me from doing the shooting drills, conditioning,” said West, who is averaging 8.3 points, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals in 22.7 minutes per game. “I’m taking it all in stride, man. With all these games, I’d like to be out there giving my guys some rest and getting ready for a deep run later in the season, but it’s one of those things.”

Given the circumstances, West is in remarkably good spirits. That started the moment he realized he suffered a serious injury last week against the Nuggets.

The finger looked so nasty that teammate Vince Carter recoiled in disgust when he saw it, something West has kidded Carter about in the locker room.

West, who mentioned that he watches the gory TV program “Spartacus: Blood and Sand,” walked off the court with his head up high and a straight face.

“You’ve got to keep rolling with it,” West said. “My first or second injury in the league years ago, I said, ‘Why me?’ But it’s all about keeping a positive mind frame, keeping it in stride. I think positive thinking promotes healing. If you stay in the dumps, the longer your injury is going to take. I’m doing my positive affirmations and my mental healing.”

DALLAS -- The Dallas Mavericks are running out of reserve guards.

Delonte West suffered a fractured and dislocated right ring finger in the second quarter and was immediately ruled out for the rest of the game. His finger was bloody and bent at an ugly angle with the bone sticking out after he tried to reach in for a steal. The Mavs have not announced a timetable for the left-handed West's return.

That left Dominique Jones as the only healthy reserve guard on the Mavs' roster.

The Mavericks were already without sixth man Jason Terry (sore quadriceps) and combo guard Rodrigue Beaubois, who left the team after the unexpected death of his father Wednesday.

Coach Rick Carlisle said Terry would also miss Friday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers due to personal reasons. Owner Mark Cuban said the team does not know when Beaubois will return, but he will be given as long as necessary to deal with the tragedy.

DALLAS – At first glance, a backcourt featuring Jason Kidd and Vince Carter appears to be an ill fit at their advance age.

After all, somebody has to guard all the good point guards the Mavs will see. And almost all of the Western Conference contenders have one: Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, the Clippers’ Chris Paul, San Antonio’s Tony Parker, Denver’s Ty Lawson, Houston’s Kyle Lowry.

Shawn Marion can solve a lot of problems, including the mismatch issues with the geezer guard combo. At least, that's what the early evidence indicates.

We got a glimpse of how the Mavs might approach the opposing point guard problem on Friday night, when Kidd returned from a six-game absence. The Mavs stuck with Carter as the starting shooting guard instead of putting Delonte West in that spot and gave Marion the assignment of defending rookie sensation Ricky Rubio.

“This is nothing new,” coach Rick Carlisle said of Marion’s ability to be a defensive problem-solver regardless of position. “He’s been one of the most versatile players that we’ve had at both ends of the floor in the game in the last decade. It helps. He’s always up for those kinds of challenges, too.”

It worked wonderfully against the Timberwolves. Rubio had a so-so outing, scoring 10 points on 2-of-8 shooting and dishing out eight assists. Meanwhile, Kidd keyed a Mavs win, as Dallas outscored the Timberwolves by 23 points in Kidd’s 27 minutes.

Marion’s ability to defend point guards keeps Kidd’s lack of elite quickness from being exposed and limits the wear and tear on the 38-year-old. It allows the Mavs to continue starting Carter, who has by far the team’s best plus-minus this season, and ensures that West will be available to play all the backup point guard minutes.

It worked against Rubio. What about against an elite point guard like Paul? We’re about to find out.

DALLAS -- There was so much running through Delonte West’s mind as the second overtime started Saturday night.

He thought about the strategic advice Mavs starting point guard Jason Kidd, who had hit his minutes ceiling for the night, had given him about attacking the Portland defense. He thought about getting loose again after sitting so long, having played only 15 seconds in the previous 11 minutes of game time.

Then he thought about a special 15-year-old kid in the American Airlines Center crowd as a guest of West’s.

“I thought about my man Lyndon Baty,” West said after the Mavs’ 97-94 win, referring to a Knox City, Texas, native with a rare, life-threatening kidney disorder whom West befriended after seeing Baty’s inspirational story on ESPN. “He was at the game and I was thinking about his strength and his character and what would he do right now. He propelled me and I sparked my team right there in that second OT.”

West put the tired Mavs on his back, scoring Dallas’ first six points of the second overtime period.

He took Kidd’s advice and attacked the Trail Blazers off the pick-and-roll, making them pay for hugging up on Dirk Nowitzki. He knocked down an 11-foot floater on the Mavs’ first possession of the period, a 19-foot pull-up a couple of trips later and finished the scoring flurry with a sweet 16-foot stepback, creating space to get his shot over Portland’s Wesley Matthews with a between-the-legs dribble.

“Phenomenal,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “The guy stays ready, and he’s a money player. He’s had that reputation since he’s been in the league, really. We’d been battling pretty good, but we needed a lift.”

West wasn’t done. He didn’t score again, finishing the game with 10 points, but his sweet feed to Shawn Marion made Brendan Haywood’s go-ahead tip-in possible in the final minute.

And West sealed the win in his primary role for the Mavs, serving as a defensive stopper. Trail Blazers guard Jamal Crawford had to jack up a wild shot at the buzzer, a prayer that didn’t get close to the rim, because of West’s in-his-grill defense.

“He’s always ready when his number is called,” Jason Terry said. “He’s either going to do the little things or the big things.”

As far as West is concerned, that’s just doing his job.

West’s pride after the gritty win over Portland wasn’t because he hit some big shots, something he had done plenty of times during his days in Cleveland and Boston. It was because he gave his little buddy Lyndon Baty, a big-time Mavericks fan, a night to remember.

“He’s fighting for life and he was doing it with a smile on his face,” West said. “You know, he reminded me of Maximus Aurelius in the movie Gladiator. He gets a big thumbs up from us.”

No doubt Baty would give West a similar review, especially after that second OT.

DENVER -- There was no update on Jason Kidd’s status after the Mavs' shootaround, so as expected the point guard duties will again be filled by Delonte West and Rodrigue Beaubois.

As much as the Mavs miss Kidd’s ability to orchestrate their offense, West and Beaubois can’t get caught up in trying to imitate the future Hall of Famer. They have to play their game, which begins with trying to put the ball in the basket.

Beaubois, in particular, got away from that in Saturday’s loss to the Cavaliers. He attempted only two shots in 20 scoreless minutes, looking like a guard who was trying not to make mistakes instead of one who was looking to make plays.

“Roddy wasn’t aggressive clearly and I got on his ass about it after the game and we’ve looked at film since,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said after Wednesday’s shootaround at the Pepsi Center. “Both of those guys are scoring point guards. They’ve got to always be aggressive to look to score. Otherwise, a big part of their game is missed by our team.”

Carlisle, who points out that offensive execution ranks behind rebounding and perimeter defense on his list of immediate concerns, has emphasized over the last few days that he wants the Mavs to always have an attacking mindset. That has to start with the point guards.

“It starts when we get possession,” Carlisle said. “We need to push the ball quick to try for great opportunities for our team. If we don’t have them, it preserves time on the clock for us to work the ball and keep playing. I always want our point guards to try to probe the paint and get to the rim when they can, but they’ve got to do it under control. They understand that.”

Whether they can follow the philosophy against Ty Lawson in high altitude is another matter.

DENVER – There are a lot easier places to snap a losing streak than the Pepsi Center.

The Nuggets are an NBA-best 140-36 (.795) on their high-altitude home court since the beginning of the 2007-08 season. They’ve won six of the last eight meetings against the Mavs in Denver.

Plus, the Nuggets have established themselves as a superstar-less threat in the Western Conference. The first four-game losing streak of the Dallas’ season is a distinct possibility, especially if the Mavs can’t figure out how to avoid repeating their recent post-halftime horror shows.

Then again, this is as good a time as any to face the Nuggets, who will be missing scoring leader Danilo Gallinari for about a month due to a severe left ankle sprain and have a few other rotation players nursing injuries. Denver has lost five of its last six games, including three in a row at home.

Records: Nuggets 15-10, Mavs 14-11

When: 8:00

Where: Pepsi Center

TV: FSSW

Radio: ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM; 1270 AM (Spanish)

What to watch: The Mavs will try to get out of a nasty offensive rut – averaging only 87.0 points during their three-game losing streak – against the NBA’s highest-scoring team. They better hope that Dirk Nowitzki’s sudden groove continues and that the guys who stepped up while the Mavs’ MVP was struggling can get going again.

Key matchup: Ty Lawson vs. Delonte West/Rodrigue Beaubois
Lawson, who has emerged as one of the West’s best young guards, presents a whole different set of problems for the Mavs’ combo guards, who are struggling to fill Jason Kidd's shoes. The lightning-quick Lawson is averaging 15.5 points and 6.4 assists, and he’s the primary reason the Nuggets average an NBA-best 21.2 fast break points per night. He’ll have the ball in his hands even more often with Gallinari sidelined. Lawon had 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting in the Nuggets day-after-Christmas rout in Dallas. West and Beaubois had enough on their plate anyway, struggling with the burden of orchestrating the Mavs’ out-of-sync offense while Kidd recovers from a strained right calf.

Injuries: Mavs – G Jason Kidd (right calf strain) is doubtful. Nuggets – F Danilo Gallinari (ankle) is out; C/PF Nene (heel) is questionable; C Timofey Mozgov (ankle) is out; SF Corey Brewer (personal reasons) is doubtful; SG Arron Afflalo (ankle) is probable; SG/SF Rudy Fernandez (back) is probable.

Up next: Mavs at Minnesota Timberwolves, 7 p.m., Friday.