Tyson Chandler, Hornets
106-77 win at Heat
20 pts, 10-10 FG

Monta Ellis, Warriors
111-86 loss at Mavericks
27 pts, 12-19 FG, 2-2 3-pt FG

Jason Richardson, Bobcats
118-114 loss vs. Cavaliers
31 pts, 13-22 FG, 4-8 3-pt FG

Mike Bibby and the rest of the Hawks refused to lose on Wednesday. Bibby nailed the tying 3-pointer in regulation as Atlanta rallied back from 17 points down against Toronto in an eventual seven-point win in overtime. More importantly, the Hawks increased their lead for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot to four games over Indiana, which lost 92-77 at Boston. Bibby posted 26 points, 12 assists, six rebounds and three steals.

Stephen Jackson, Warriors
111-86 loss at Mavericks
2 pts, 1-11 FG, 0-4 3-pt FG

Travis Diener, Pacers
92-77 loss at Celtics
4 pts, 1-6 FG, 0-5 3-pt FG

Raymond Felton, Bobcats
118-114 loss vs. Cavaliers
9 pts, 3-13 FG, 0-2 3-pt FG

Dirk Nowitzki made an unexpected and triumphant return on Wednesday. And he may have helped save the Mavericks’ season in the process. The reigning MVP, who missed four games with a high-ankle sprain, posted 18 points and five rebounds as Dallas knocked off Golden State in a key Western Conference showdown. Dallas (47-28), currently seventh in the West standings, moved a full game ahead of idle Denver and two games ahead of Golden State (45-30). Nowitzki was far from 100 percent and was only 6-of-15 from the floor. But he showed a lot of guts in returning and remarkably showed little signs of being restricted by his bad ankle. Jason Terry equaled his season high with 31 points and Josh Howard added 28 for the Mavericks, who never trailed in this one. With only seven games left, it should be a wild ride to the finish in the rugged and entertaining West.

Call it “Welcome Back Wednesday." Several of the league’s biggest and brightest stars made their returns as their teams gear for the upcoming playoffs. Besides Dirk Nowitzki -- (glance at the box to your left) -- Pau Gasol, Gilbert Arenas and Elton Brand all saw action on Wednesday. Gasol rejoined Kobe Bryant as the two combined for 46 points in the Lakers’ win over the Trail Blazers. Gasol posted 10 points, seven assists and six rebounds after missing nine games with an ankle sprain. Kobe benefited the most from Gasol’s return as he poured in 36 points to go with his 13 boards and seven assists. Arenas took the court for the first time since Nov. 16, but the Wizards came up short at the buzzer in a one-point loss to the Bucks. Meanwhile, Brand made his season debut count with 19 points in the Clippers’ win over the Sonics.

Javaris Crittenton is making it awfully tough for the Grizzlies to not increase his minutes. Crittenton has been stuck all season in a guard logjam with Kyle Lowry, Mike Miller, Mike Conley and Juan Carlos Navarro. But Crittenton broke out Wednesday with a career-high 23 points to go with his nine rebounds as Memphis bested New York. … Kevin Durant scored 30, but counterpart Al Thornton scored 21 and grabbed 10 boards to lead Los Angeles. Jeff Green had 17 points for Seattle. … Al Horford had 14 points and 12 rebounds in the Hawks’ win over the Raptors.

Ramon Sessions was definitely in the house on Wednesday. And he was dropping some big shots on the Wizards. His biggest of the night came at the buzzer, a 19-foot beauty from the corner that lifted the Bucks to a thrilling one-point victory. Sessions had given the Bucks a chance to win by chasing down a loose ball in the backcourt after losing a jump ball to Caron Butler with 6.3 seconds left. Sessions, a former D-Leaguer with the Tulsa 66ers, finished with eight points and eight assists in 24 minutes off the bench. The Bucks never led by more than one point and overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit.

The Los Angeles D-Fenders are out in front. Sean Banks made sure of that Wednesday night, posting a game-high 26 points and making a key block with 13.9 seconds left in L.A.’s big 105-100 win over the Idaho Stampede. The victory pushed the D-Fenders (32-14) one-half game ahead of the Stampede (31-14) in the West Division standings with 10 days left in the regular season. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out down the stretch between the league’s two best teams. It’s amazing the race is this close given the Stampede’s 18-game winning streak earlier this season. Maybe it’s the D-League -- where amazing happens?