Dallas Mavericks rookie Dennis Smith Jr. stood his ground on Tuesday against the likes of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum as he scored 18 points and added eight rebounds and eight assists to lead the Mavs to a 115-109 upset win at home over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Smith definitely looked fine in the game. His shots were falling, as went 50 percent from the floor (8/16 FG) and played 29 minutes. Clearly, there were no signs of him being far from tiptop condition. He even managed to add more to his rookie season highlight reel with a fantastic self alley-oop dunk.

But in the NBA, a player can sometimes be only as healthy as what their own team says he is. Smith learned a lesson about that immediately after the win against Portland, as the Mavs have declared him out for Wednesday’s road game against the Orlando Magic because of “knee soreness” via Brad Townsend of Dallas Morning News.

Rick Carlisle said Dennis Smith Jr. will not play tomorrow in Orlando due to recent knee soreness.

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Yeah, right, Rick.

Whether you believe that Dennis Smith Jr.’s knee issue is serious enough to cost him a game, saving the rookie is quite an understandable move for the Mavs. There are more benefits to losing this late in the season than winning for a team like the Mavericks, who are eyeing for a higher chance for the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.

So far this season, Smith is averaging 15.2 points, 5.0 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per game for the Mavs.

With Smith out, expect to see more of J.J. Barea and Yogi Ferrell in the Mavs’ backcourt.