After drawing the start Wednesday vs Orlando in place of Dennis Smith Jr. (knee soreness), guard J.J. Barea notched just 10 minutes of play before being forced to exit the game with a left oblique strain, according to, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News reports.

In an effort to not risk further injury, Barea is officially being ruled out of the rest of the season, according to Bobby Karalla of Mavs.com.

In 69 games this season, the 33-year-old Barea has averaged career-highs in points (11.6) and assists (6.3), to go along with 2.9 rebounds, in 23.4 minutes per game of action. A 12-year veteran, Barea is expected to be 100-percent healthy for the start of the 2018-19 season and in the final year of an four-year deal that will pay him about $3.7 million.

“I don’t want to finish the season with it messed up,” Barea told Dwain Price of Mavs.com. “I had a good season, I don’t want anything to happen.”