Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle fears Dwight Powell may have suffered a "severe" Achilles injury in a 110-107 defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.

Powell went down in agony late in the first quarter at American Airlines Center and had to be helped back to the locker room.

The center will undergo an MRI scan on Wednesday and the Mavericks are fearing the worst, having only just welcomed Kristaps Porzingis back from a knee injury.

"It's a sombre night with Dwight's situation," Carlisle said. "He's going to have an MRI.

"Right Achilles injury feared to be severe, but we won't know for sure until the diagnostic tests are done. It's a real tough one."

Carlisle added: "He's one of the soldiers of the franchise really. But he's an upbeat guy. And if the news ends up being the worst news, we've seen how [J.J.] Barea recovered [from a right Achilles tear suffered last January].

"So, Dwight will get back there. But we don't know yet."

The Mavericks (27-16) are fifth in the Western Conference after a four-match winning run was ended by the Clippers (31-13).