That decision forced the Thunder to stick close to the Mavericks' role players throughout the first quarter. Once Washington scored the first five points, Irving asserted himself and drained a 3-pointer before finishing at the basket with a finger roll to give the Mavericks an early 10-0 lead.

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder by a final score of 106-98 on Friday night. Kyrie Irving, who did not play on Wednesday due to a lumbar back sprain, returned on Friday and scored 25 points to go along with five assists and five rebounds.

Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving has been ruled out of Wednesday night’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans, who are similarly resting power forward Zion Williamson.