By JAIME ARON
AP Sports Writer
DALLAS (AP) A person with direct knowledge of the intial diagnosis says Caron Butler could be out at least a couple of months with a torn patellar tendon in his right knee.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team was waiting for MRI results Sunday before making any announcements.
Butler went down during a loss at Milwaukee on Saturday night. He was coming off a season-high, 30-point performance while picking up the offensive slack because of an injury to leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki.
Butler, a small forward, is the team's third-leading scorer at 15 points per game. A long absence could be especially costly to him because he will be a free agent after this season.
The Mavericks were playing in Cleveland on Sunday night.
Updated January 2, 2011
