DALLAS — Luka Doncic, the star guard for the Dallas Mavericks, made his return to the court on Tuesday night for an NBA Cup matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans. His return came after he sat out the previous game due to a contusion in his right knee.

The Mavericks entered the contest on a positive note, boasting a two-game winning streak after earlier struggling through four consecutive losses. Their latest victory occurred against the Oklahoma City Thunder, who currently lead the Western Conference, with a tight score of 121-119 on Sunday night. This game was notably the first that Doncic missed in the current season.

In his last performance before the injury, Doncic played only 28 minutes in a decisive 110-93 win over the San Antonio Spurs. During that game, he scored 16 points, which was just a point above his season low, and he did not participate in the last eight minutes of play as the Mavericks were comfortably in the lead.

Doncic was the NBA’s scoring champion last season, with an impressive average of 33.9 points per game, alongside 9.2 rebounds and 9.8 assists. Currently, he is averaging 28.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 7.8 assists this season, reflecting a slight decline. Head coach Jason Kidd addressed these lower figures before Tuesday’s contest, acknowledging that Doncic’s performance showed he is human, but emphasized that those statistics are still highly commendable. “You sign up for that all day long,” Kidd remarked regarding Doncic’s averages.