Anthony Davis could not help but grin.
A moment earlier, the 10-time All-Star cut baseline and accepted a pass from P.J. Washington before throwing down a two-handed dunk for the first points in what would be a 120-101 win for his Dallas Mavericks over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night.
Not a bad way to come back after missing six weeks with a groin injury.
“I feel good,” Davis said after scoring 12 points and grabbing six rebounds. “I feel like I had a great rhythm, to be honest. I wasn’t trying to force anything.
Davis shot 6-for-9 from the field and added three assists, a steal and a blocked shot in his first game 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.
He had been listed as out until the Mavs changed Davis’ injury designation for the first time Sunday when they listed him as doubtful. The designation changed again Monday when Dallas said he was questionable.
During his pregame availability, coach Jason Kidd said Davis would be on a minutes restriction. He was in Dallas’ starting lineup at power forward and played 26:32.
I stressed to (Mavericks management) that once I’m 100%, whatever that time was and we had games left, I’m going to play,” Davis said. “We all huddled up and got on the same page and like I (said), went through the rehab process and was able to play tonight.
“(There) was never a moment in my mind — unless we ran out of games (or) I wasn’t 100% — I wasn’t going to play.”
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. When asked if the groin and abdominal injuries were related, Davis said he was unsure.
“You have to commend him for working to get back because it is his job,” Kidd said before the game. “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 a groin injury. He finished with 26 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists.
Seven of Dallas’ remaining 11 games are on the road. The Mavericks are 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.
