Mavericks' Anthony Davis expected to return from injury vs. Nets

The Dallas Mavericks will visit the Brooklyn Nets on Monday at Barclays Center. Anthony Davis was initially upgraded to questionable and is now expected to play after missing 18 games with a left adductor strain, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.

“Anthony Davis is expected to play tonight at Brooklyn after an 18-game absence, sources tell @TheSteinLine and @DLLS_Sports,” Stein reported on X, formerly Twitter. “The plan, I'm told, is for Davis to play just one of Dallas' back-to-back games in New York.”

Here's everything we know about Davis' injury and playing status vs. the Nets.

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Anthony Davis injury status vs. Nets

Davis has been sidelined since injuring his adductor during his Mavericks debut on Feb. 8. The star big man posted 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting with 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks before sustaining the injury during the third quarter of a 116-105 win over the Houston Rockets. He had been dealing with an abdominal injury with the Lakers before the blockbuster Luka Doncic trade.

The Mavericks are fighting to qualify for the Western Conference play-in tournament. Dallas holds the same record as the Phoenix Suns, who are in 10th place by way of a tiebreaker. Jason Kidd's squad has lost seven of its last nine games after star guard Kyrie Irving suffered a season-ending torn ACL.

Meanwhile, the Nets have lost 13 of their last 15 games. Brooklyn is tied with the Philadelphia 76ers for fifth place in the draft lottery standings and one game ahead of the Toronto Raptors with 12 remaining. Jordi Fernandez's squad will be without starting point guard D'Angelo Russell (right ankle soreness) on Monday.