DALLAS — Josh Howard put his problematic left ankle into a walking boot Tuesday, and the Dallas Mavericks don't know how long they'll be without their second-leading scorer and rebounder.

The former All-Star had missed eight straight games because of the injury. The frustrating part for the Mavericks was that every time he seemed close to returning, the ankle would swell and get sore again.

Multiple MRIs have shown no structural damage and nothing requiring surgery. The only option left was to mobilize the ankle in hopes that a long rest is all he needs.

"He's made progress, but he's not there yet," coach Rick Carlisle said. "Rather than getting into a speculation of the amount of time he'll be out, we're just going to say it's going to be a while."