INQUIRER Sports

DALLAS, Texas -- Dirk Nowitzki scored 18 points and grabbed five rebounds Wednesday in a surprise return for the Dallas Mavericks to spark a 111-86 National Basketball Association victory over Golden State.

Last season's NBA Most Valuable Player started for the Mavericks and played 27 minutes after missing the past four games with a high left ankle sprain and left knee injury.

Jason Terry led Dallas with 31 points and Josh Howard added 28 for the Mavericks (47-28), who moved one game ahead of Denver for seventh place in the Western Conference while the Warriors (45-30) fell a game behind the Nuggets.

The Mavericks never trailed and stretched their lead throughout despite 27 points by Monta Ellis and 20 for Baron Davis for the Warriors.

Nowitzki, 29, practiced with the Mavericks on Wednesday morning but had soreness after the session, yet the club's top scorer and rebounder with 23.6 points and 8.8 rebounds a game helped halt a slump of five Dallas losses in seven games.