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 Mavericks star Kyrie Irving returned for Tuesday night's home game against the Denver Nuggets. 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.