Irving is listed on the injury report as he continues to deal with a lumbar back sprain. Meanwhile, Dereck Lively II (right ankle sprain), Luka Doncic (left calf strain) and Dante Exum (right wrist surgery) are all out for Friday's game. It is worth noting that Mavs head coach Jason Kidd previously said he expects Irving to play on Friday.

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.

Dallas improved to 23-19 while Oklahoma City remain top of the West with a 34-7 record. Read more at straitstimes.com.

The 32-year-old doesn’t anticipate he’ll need surgery. He said he will “most likely” be available to play Wednesday in New Orleans.

Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving has been ruled out of Wednesday night’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans, who are similarly resting power forward Zion Williamson.

Irving (back) is available for Friday's game versus the Thunder and won't have any restrictions, Eddie Sefko of the Mavericks' official site reports. Irving has been upgraded from questionable to available Friday despite dealing with a lingering back injury.

Mavericks star Kyrie Irving discusses his bulging back disc, saying he is thankful it won't require surgery, for now.

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.

Jason Kidd said Kyrie Irving could potentially return on Friday after not playing on Wednesday against the Pelicans.

The Denver Nuggets defeated the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday and Tuesday, sweeping the two-game mini series with their Western Conference rivals. Denver has now w

Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks took on the OKC Thunder on Friday. Irving had missed the Mavericks' previous game against the New Orleans Pelicans, a 119-116 loss.