Nowitzki returns, Mavs thump Warriors 111-86

BEIJING, April 3 (Xinhuanet) -- The home crowd roared when Dirk Nowitzki was introduced as a starter Wednesday night against the Warriors, and the reigning MVP responded in his first game since injuring his left ankle with 18 points as Dallas defeated Golden State 111-86.

With the victory, Dallas (47-28), seventh in the Western Conference, moved a full game ahead of idle Denver and two games ahead of Golden State (45-30). Only the top eight teams make the playoffs.

Nowitzki had expressed doubts about playing after the morning shootaround, and the final decision wasn't made until he warmed up less than 90 minutes before the game.

"I didn't know if I should do it or not," Nowitzki said.

"There was already a sense of urgency. ... And then seeing Dirk out there, it was very inspiring," said Jason Terry, who matched a season-high with 31 points. "We were very surprised to see him (start). But once we saw him out there joking and laughing and smiling, I knew he'd be OK."

Coach Avery Johnson had indicated earlier in the day that the Mavericks were planning to play without Nowitzki. But that may have been part gamesmanship against Warriors coach Don Nelson, who resigned as the Dallas coach in March 2005 and turned the team over to Johnson, his hand-picked successor.

"Yeah, yeah, Nellie taught me that," Johnson said.

Nelson embraced Nowitzki and tapped him on the head in front of the scorer's table before tipoff.

"The big difference was Nowitzki playing," Nelson said. "He was quite an inspiration to them."

(Agencies)