Mavs’ Anthony Davis is available against Nets after 6-week injury absence

By Canadian Press on March 24, 2025.

NEW YORK (AP) — Anthony Davis returned to the Dallas Mavericks after a six-week injury absence. The star forward will play for the Mavericks against the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night and will be on a minutes restriction, coach Jason Kidd said.

Davis hasn’t played — and had been listed as out — since injuring his groin in his Dallas debut on Feb. 8. That was about a week after the seismic trade that sent Luka Doncic to Los Angeles and enraged many Mavericks fans.

The Mavs changed the 10-time All-Star’s injury designation for the first time Sunday, when they listed Davis as doubtful.

“We’d like him to have a healthy, positive experience,” Kidd said before the game. “He’s one of the best players in the world but he’s been out for some time so we just want a healthy, positive experience.”

The defending Western Conference champions are in a tight race with Phoenix for 10th place in the West, the final spot in the play-in tournament.

Dallas will be without Kyrie Irving for the rest of the season. The star guard tore the ACL in his left knee in a 122-98 loss to Sacramento on March 3.

While the injury to Irving could have been a reason for the Mavericks to consider shutting down Davis, he has continued to work toward a return, going on road trips and staying engaged with his teammates.

Davis had an abdominal injury before the trade, missing his last two games with the Lakers and the first two he could have played for Dallas.

“You have to commend him for working to get back because it is his job,” said Kidd, who declined to say the exact number of minutes Davis could play. “He feels responsible to get back to work. Just understanding that first part is who he is and I think the second part is, yeah, we can always talk about the future and that’s the balance that we have to look at.”

When he did return in a 116-105 victory at home against Houston, Davis had 24 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and all three of his blocks in the first half before pulling up late in the third quarter with the groin injury. He finished with 26 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists.

Seven of Dallas’ remaining 11 games are on the road. After playing the Nets, Dallas is at the New York Knicks on Tuesday, at Orlando on Thursday and at Chicago on Saturday.

“Working to get back with 12 games left just shows how much he cares about what he wants to do, and that’s to help his team win,” Kidd said.

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AP NBA: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NBA

The Associated Press

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