Dallas Mavericks point guard Dennis Smith Jr. returned from a six-game absence on Tuesday, posting 17 points, eight rebounds, four assists and a steal in a win over the L.A. Clippers. His rookie teammate Luka Doncic was glad his hiatus finally came to an end, but the Mavs' second-year guard wouldn't comment on his recent absence.

Reporter: “What caused your absence?”

“Like I said, we’ve got a good win tonight,” said Smith, ignoring the question at hand, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon. “If anybody wants to talk about that, I’m ready.”

Luka Doncic, on the other hand, is just relieved the holdout saga is finally over.

“I don’t like it at all,” Doncic said. “It shouldn’t happen. I mean, it’s bad for the team, bad for the player, bad for everybody. So I’m glad it’s over.”

Even head coach Rick Carlisle, who reportedly called Dennis Smith Jr. to apologize before he decided to return to the team, made his best effort to praise the guard, despite shooting an inefficient 6-of-17 from the floor.

“I thought it was great. Really tremendous,” said Carlisle. “Everything we needed. … He played one of his best games since he’s been here.”

The Mavs will do their best to sweep this issue under the rug and potentially revisit trade talks with other teams in the offseason, where they will have more leverage and assets at hand to complete a trade worth of executing. The pressure of trading Smith with only two weeks left before the trade deadline can potentially cause them to take a loss, making it best for both parties to wait.