The Dallas Mavericks got leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki back from injury this weekend but couldn't snap their season-worst slide in his abbreviated return.
The Mavericks hope to have Nowitzki available for a full game Monday when they try to avoid their longest skid in 11 seasons by beating the host Detroit Pistons.
After missing nine consecutive games because of an ailing right knee, Nowitzki played Saturday night at Memphis but was ejected after arguing a foul with 8:08 left in the third quarter of an 89-70 loss, Dallas' fifth in a row.
Nowitzki, averaging 23.6 points, finished with a season-low seven and missed five of seven shots in 15 minutes. He said he might need time to get back in the groove, and that could make it difficult to match his season-high 42 points in an 88-84 comeback win over the Pistons on Nov. 23.
"I've never missed three weeks in my career," Nowitzki said. "Actually, lung-wise, I was fine. I was running. I just really couldn't move much. My lungs were actually decent. I wasn't too gassed. I wasn't too tired. We've just got to get that knee closer to 100 percent."
The Mavericks (26-13) have won five straight against the Pistons (14-26) with Nowitzki averaging 29.0 points. He scored 25 points to lead Dallas to a 95-90 win last season at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Another high-scoring effort from Nowitzki might help the Mavericks avoid their first six-game skid since Feb. 29-March 9, 2000 - the nine-time All-Star forward's second season in the NBA. Dallas has also dropped three in a row on the road - its longest slide since losing five straight Feb. 5-March 5, 2009.
The Pistons, though, might not make ending those skids easy as they've won three of four at home to improve to 10-9 there. They got a key blocked shot from their shortest player, 6-foot Will Bynum, in a 110-106 victory over Sacramento on Saturday night.
Detroit gave up 70 points in the first half but allowed 36 in the final 24, including 10 in the third period.
"That's two in a row, hopefully we can make it three," guard Will Bynum said. "If we come out with the same type of energy and defensively, how we played in the second half was big. If we can keep that going, we'll be in the game and try and finish it out."
That win, coupled with a 101-95 victory at Toronto, gave Detroit its first sweep of a back-to-back set this season, and it appears that coach John Kuester's changes to the lineup have paid off.
Kuester has benched veteran swingman Richard Hamilton - rumored to be part of a potential Carmelo Anthony trade - for the past three games. Rookie Greg Monroe has started in place of an injured Ben Wallace (left ankle) over that same span and extended his run of double-digit scoring performance to six after previously having two in his first 32 games.
Chris Wilcox has assumed Charlie Villanueva's starting spot and Tracy McGrady has taken over Ben Gordon's over the past three games. McGrady, though, hurt his shin in the first quarter Saturday after scoring a season-high 22 points in Friday's win.
Detroit hasn't won three in a row since April 6-9 and will try to take advantage of the Mavericks' struggling defense. Dallas has given up an average of 101.6 points during its skid after previously allowing 93.2 per game.