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.

Dallas improved to 23-19 while Oklahoma City remain top of the West with a 34-7 record. Read more at straitstimes.com.