Kyrie Irving Stats Tonight: How did Mavericks star perform in his return from injury against Nuggets? (Jan. 14)

Kyrie Irving returned to the Dallas Mavericks lineup after missing the last five games due to a lumbar back sprain. The Mavericks hosted the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night for the second time in three days. How did Irving perform in his first game back?

Irving finished the game with 11 points, four rebounds, two assists, four steals and one block. Irving struggled in his return, shooting just 4-for-18 from the field and missing three of his attempts from beyond the arc.

The Mavericks did not have it in them from the get-go and appeared deflated after Dereck Lively II suffered a sprained ankle. Lively was ruled out for the remainder of the game, while Dallas never recovered. Jamal Murray was also lights out for Denver, scoring 45 points on 26 shots.

Here are Kyrie Irving's stats for the game:

Players	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	+/-
Kyrie Irving	11	4	2	4	1	1	1	30:20	4-18	0-3	3-4	-17

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How did Kyrie Irving perform in his first game back from injury?

Kyrie Irving missed his first three shots of the game before finally getting on the scoreboard at the 4:41 mark. He hit a pullup jump shot to trim the Denver Nuggets lead to 11 points. He made his next basket, which was a floater, in the next possession. He was taken out less than a minute later for a breather.

The one-time NBA champion was coming off a five-game absence, so the Mavs coaching staff won't play him in full minutes. He added five points in the second quarter, with one field goal and three free throws.

Dallas struggled to contain Jamal Murray in the first half, while allowing the Nuggets to build a 29-point lead at one point. Murray had 32 points after the two quarters, which was a career-high in a half, with Denver leading 71-45 at halftime.

In the second half, the Dallas Mavericks continued to get overwhelmed by Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic. Murray was still in onslaught mode for the Denver Nuggets, while Jokic casually dropped a triple-double with just seven shots from the field.

The three-time NBA MVP finished with 10 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. Murray ended up with 45 points and six assists as the Nuggets staved off a comeback attempt early in the fourth quarter.

Kyrie Irving just didn't have it in his first returns, missing a whopping 12 shots. He was kind of aggressive in the second quarter, but the game was already over at that point.

The Mavs are back in action tomorrow in New Orleans against Zion Williamson and the Pelicans. It will be interesting to see if Kyrie Irving is cleared to play in back-to-back games. It won't be surprising if Dallas takes a precaution and gives him the day off for Wednesday's game.