Dirk Nowitzki welcomed his third child into the world on Friday, now the Dallas Mavericks are eager to welcome their star forward back onto the court.Nowitzki has been out of action with a strained right Achilles tendon since November 4th against the Portland Trail Blazers. He initially hurt his Achilles in the Mavericks season opener on Oct. 26 against the Indiana Pacers.Dallas (2-6) could certainly use his scoring capability when it meets the New York Knicks (3-6) on Monday at Madison Square Garden. The Mavericks, who have been off since a 116-95 loss to the Golden State Warriors last Wednesday, are averaging 97.1 points, ranking them 26th in the league.Dallas won five straight games against the Knicks and is 27-11 against New York over the last 20 seasons.Nowitzki, 38, is the active leader in points scored (29,527) and minutes played (47,332). His wife Jessica gave birth to their son Morris.Nowitzki practiced over the weekend and is hopeful to join the Mavericks when they play four of their next five games on the road.We dont want to rush anything and go back to where we were last week, Nowitzki told the Dallas Morning News. So if I feel anything this weekend, theyre going to ease off again.Obviously, I want to play in the (Madison Square) Garden on Monday (against the Knicks) and I want to play in Boston (on Wednesday) -- two of my favorite road spots. But I just dont know at this point if its going to happen.Nowitzki averaged 18 points in two games against the Knicks last season.The Mavericks will be missing point guard Deron Williams, who is out with a left calf strain. Williams has missed the last three games. Seth Curry is expected to start in his place.Hes (Williams) going to be a little longer than hoped, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. Theres no timetable. Id say hes most likely out for New York (on Monday). And Boston (Wednesday) is probably a long shot.The Knicks have lost two straight at Boston and Toronto, where the Raptors were 33-of-38 from the line. New York held an opponent under 100 points just once this season.Its a learning experience, Derrick Rose said. There have probably been numerous games where teams shot 30 or over 35 free throws on us. Weve just got to learn from it. When they have the bonus, or when theyre close to it, weve got to communicate to each other that weve got to play safe, or under control so were just not giving them fouls or giving them free throws.Forward Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 31 points against Toronto, but failed to score a field goal in the fourth quarter. Against the Celtics, Anthony picked up two technical fouls in the second quarter and was ejected after scoring just 12 points in the 116-87 loss.I dont even know the last time Ive been ejected from a game of basketball, Anthony told the New York Post. I dont even know what that feels like.Being on the road playing a game of that stature, to be kicked out of the game for what reason? Because of a couple of bad words?Backup point guard Brandon Jennings was also issued two technicals in the Boston game and was ejected. He was fined $15,000 by the league for directing inappropriate language toward a game official and failing to leave the court in a timely manner following his ejection with 3:20 remaining in the contest.With the Knicks playing their third game in four nights and Anthony, Rose, Courtney Lee and Kristaps Porzingis all averaging at least 30 minutes, New Yorks bench will have to play a major role against Dallas.Jennings, the sixth man averaging seven points and 4.6 assists, should be a key. Julio Jones Jersey . Despite the cost, effort and an improved steroid test, its possible that very few -- if any -- positives will be detected, Dr. Richard Budgett told The Associated Press in an interview. 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The United Arab Emirates shock win over Japan has opened up Australias World Cup qualifying group and reinforced the challenge awaiting the Socceroos in Abu Dhabi.The UAE recorded a historic 2-1 win, coming from behind to beat the Asian heavyweights after star man Ahmed Khalil scored with a free kick and penalty either side of half-time to overcome Keisuke Hondas early header.Asano Takuma might have snatched a point for the hosts, but officials failed to spot his header had crossed the line.The scale of the win is made clear by Australias record in Japan.Australia have never triumphed in seven matches against their Asian arch-rivals, recording three losses and four draws.The Socceroos play the UAE on Tuesday night (early Wednesday AEST), with the winner set to be Group Bs early pacesetter.The result sent shockwaves across the continent but Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou said he wasnt surprised.I said it at the draw, weve got the tougher group for sure, he said.Teams aare going to be taking points off each other, theres no games that are going to be givens.dddddddddddd Theyre a good side.Australia are top of the group after their 2-0 success over Iraq, with Saudi Arabia also joining the opening night winners list after a late penalty brought a 1-0 defeat of Thailand.The top two sides in the six-team group are guaranteed a place at the 2018 World Cup, with the third-placed nation pitched into a play-off.AUSTRALIAS WORLD CUP QUALIFYING GROUP RESULTSAustralia bt Iraq 2-0United Arab Emirates bt Japan 2-1Saudi Arabia bt Thailand 1-0TABLE AFTER ONE MATCH1. Australia - 3 points, +2 goal difference2. United Arab Emirates - 3 points, +1 goal difference3. Saudi Arabia - 3 points, +1 goal difference4. Japan - 0 points, -1 goal difference5. Thailand - 0 points, -1 goal difference6. Iraq - 0 points, -2 goal difference ' ' '