Dallas Mavericks: Ryan Broekhoff nets 5 points in return from injury

Dallas Mavericks forward Ryan Broekhoff played in his first action since Dec. 29 because of a leg injury. Here is a look at his performance.

The Dallas Mavericks had a night to forget on Tuesday. They defeated the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Jan. 27. Returning home for a second of a back-to-back against the Phoenix Suns did not sound that bad, but it turned into an absolute nightmare for the Mavs.

The Suns won 133-104 behind 32 points from Devin Booker and 31 from Deandre Ayton. The Mavericks never even grabbed a lead. The game was over after Phoenix erupted for a 48-point third quarter in which they seemingly didn’t miss a shot.

Tuesday’s game did bring the return of Ryan Broekhoff. The 6’6 forward suffered a broken leg on Dec. 29 against the Los Angeles Lakers. The injury caused him to miss 14 games before returning against the Suns. Here is a look at his performance.

Lights out

Broekhoff was not part of the rotation on Jan. 28. The Mavericks used Justin Jackson in that position. Broekhoff did not enter until 8:05 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Suns were ahead 120-84 at that juncture.

The game had already been decided, but the 29-year-old forward still played well. He had five points and one rebound in his eight minutes of action to finish the game. That included going two of three from the field.

Broekhoff likely needs to improve his conditioning and get his legs back under him after missing a month of action. He will have that opportunity as the Mavericks do not play again until Friday night. It will be interesting to see if he is part of the regular rotation in Houston. Fans can read more about that here.

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