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Kyrie Irving returns from 5-game absence; Dereck Lively II exits with ankle injury

Dallas' veteran guard had been sidelined since Jan. 1 with a lower back injury.

Kyrie Irving returned to Dallas’ lineup on Tuesday and finished with 11 points on 4-for-18 shooting vs. Denver.

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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.

Irving, who is averaging 24.3 points and 4.9 assists per game this season, was sidelined the past week because of a lower back injury.

The Mavs went 2-3 during the five games that Irving missed.

Unfortunately, Dallas lost center Dereck Lively II was forced to leave Tuesday’s game in the first quarter with a right ankle sprain. Per Chris Haynes, an X-ray of Lively’s injury was negative but there is no timetable established for his return.

Irving was listed as out due to illness for the Mavs’ Jan. 3 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Before the next game, the team announced that he had a lumbar sprain in his lower back.

Mavs co-star Luka Dončić has been sidelined since straining his left calf during a Christmas loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He is scheduled to be reevaluated in the last week of January.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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