Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki made a very familiar play on Thursday night against the Phoenix Suns which allowed him to score his first bucket since returning from injury. A great moment for Mavs fans.

Nowitzki made his season debut in Phoenix after sitting out the first 26 games due to offseason ankle surgery, and he decided to go old school to secure his first basket.

After catching the ball near the corner, Nowitzki squared up to the basket and delivered a trademark shot off the backboard to earn the two points.

It's a play we've all seen hundreds of times, but it feels like it keeps getting better and better.

The Mavs have managed to turn things around this season after a 3-8 start, but there's no doubt that getting Nowitzki back on the court will give the team even more momentum moving forward.

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Kawhi Leonard, Tyronn Lue, Luka Doncic, Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks

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Klay Thompson in front in a Mavericks uniform. On left, Mavericks' Luka Doncic. On right, Mavericks' Kyrie Irving.

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Mavericks' Luka Doncic looking at Clippers' Paul George shooting a basketball, Clippers' Kawhi Leonard dunking a basketball.

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He's one of the best to ever play the game, and while he's in the latter stages of his career, his skills are still hard to match.

With Dallas riding a three-game winning streak, this figures to be an important stretch of games for Rick Carlisle's team. Including the game against the Suns, the Mavs will play five of their next six games on the road, and that should tell us a lot about this team's potential.

But having Nowitzki back on the court is huge no matter what, and he and Luka Doncic may be able to form an excellent duo that will cause plenty of matchup problems for opposing defenders.