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Tim MacMahon, ESPN Staff Writer
DALLAS — Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving returned for Tuesday night’s home game against the Denver Nuggets, but the team lost center Dereck Lively II to a right ankle sprain in the first quarter.
Lively exited with 8:04 left in the first quarter and did not return.
Irving, who is averaging 24.3 points and 4.9 assists this season, is back after sitting out the past week because of a lower back injury.
The Mavs went 2-3 during the five games that Irving sat out.
Irving was listed as out because of illness for the Mavs’ Jan. 3 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team announced before the next game that he had a lumbar sprain in his lower back.
Sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania that Irving has been dealing with a bulging disk in his lower back.
Mavs co-star Luka Doncic has been sidelined since straining his left calf during a Christmas Day loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He is scheduled to be reevaluated the last week of January.
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