LOS ANGELES - Dirk Nowitzki is back. And this time, he plans to stick around a little longer.
The Mavericks' leader, who has missed all but five games this season, will play on a limited-minutes basis tonight against the Los Angeles Clippers. He's missed the last 14 games and 22 of the last 24 with a strained right Achilles.
An hourlong workout Thursday convinced Nowitzki, the medical staff and coach Rick Carlisle that the time has come to get Nowitzki back in game action.
"The Achilles responded really well to all the stuff we did," Nowitzki said.