Gruppen » offense will return once he does.W

NEW YORK -- Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki said Monday he is getting closer to returning from sore right Achilles.Nowitzki missed his fourth straight game in the Mavericks 93-77 loss to the New York Knicks. He had a lengthy pregame workout, but by then it was already decided that he wouldnt play.The biggest issue is still running, Nowitzki said after the game. Im not a big runner at this stage in my career but I cant really go up and down yet. I havent run in full practice. So its not quite there yet but the good thing is its getting better. I dont have the soreness I had last week obviously. Ill be doing more and more.Nowitzki sat out the second half of Dallas loss in Portland on Nov. 4 and hasnt played since. Though the Mavericks are 2-7, they dont want the 38-year-old forward back until hes ready.I think hes really close. Hes feeling a lot better and we just dont want to rush anything, owner Mark Cuban said. Theres no reason to rush anything with him.The Mavericks also are playing without injured guards Deron Williams and Devin Harris, and on Monday shot under 39 percent against a Knicks team that had been struggling defensively. Nowitzki, the No. 6 scorer in NBA history, knows the offense will return once he does.We cant score enough. Obviously thats the one thing I can sort of do, Nowitzki said. I might not be any good at any other thing anymore but I can still score a little bit and help the team score, just helping offensively as much as I can. So its tough. It is tough to sit over there and watch. MADRID -- Atletico Madrid has presented Argentina midfielder Nicolas Gaitan a month after securing his transfer from Benfica.Gaitan will help reinforce a squad coached by Diego Simeone that reached the final of the Champions League and finished third in the Spanish league last season.Gaitan says I will be able to bring with me the sense of tactical order I learned in Portugal.The 28-year-old Gaitan played six seasons for Benfica, helping it win 10 titlees across all competitions.dddddddddddd. He scored 41 goals in 252 for the Portuguese champions. He also has 15 caps for Argentina.Atletico reached a deal for Gaitan in June while he was playing for Argentina at Copa America.Gaitan arrived in the Spanish capital the day after Atletico presented Croatia defender Sime Vrsaljko. ' ' '