Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving, who has been sidelined since Jan. 1 with a back injury, returned to action in Tuesday’s home game against the Denver Nuggets. Irving finished with 11 points (on 4-for-18 shooting), four rebounds, two assists and four steals in Dallas’ 118-99 loss.

Mavericks star Kyrie Irving is listed as doubtful for Wednesday night's road game against the Pelicans, although his intention had been to play both games of a back-to-back after returning from a five-game absence due to a bulging disc in his lower back.