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

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.

Following Tuesday's loss to the Denver Nuggets, Irving spoke in the Mavericks locker room about the injury and prognosis.

Jamal Murray’s season-high scoring night came on the heels of Michael Malone almost shutting him down at halftime in Denver’s previous game on Sunday.

More importantly, the win gave Denver a one-and-a-half-game lead over Dallas for fourth place in the Western Conference standings. They're now 2-1 against the Mavericks in the regular season series. The Nuggets are also just 1.5 games behind the third-seeded Memphis Grizzlies.

Jamal Murray, who signed a four-year, $208 million contract extension last year, produced his best offensive performance of the season Tuesday, scoring a season-high 45 points in leading the Denver Nuggets to a 118-99 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.