Howard rusty in his return to the court
The Mavericks' forward tallied 16 points and a game-high three steals in his debut
DALLAS, Texas -- Mavericks forward Josh Howard confessed to a case of nerves before tipoff Saturday night.
"Then I made a couple of free throws and I was OK again," he said. "It felt good getting back in the swing of things. Trying to be out there for my team today, that was it. I had a good time out there."
Howard, drawing his old starting spot, scored 16 points with four rebounds, two assists and a game-high three steals in the Mavericks 129-101 win over the Toronto Raptors at American Airlines Center.
It has been a long road back for Howard, who missed 30 games last season because of left wrist and ankle injuries. He underwent surgery to repair both in May. After a summer rehab, Howard was cleared to begin practice again in mid-October, but ankle complications kept him out of the exhibition and first five regular-season games. It didn't keep him off the practice court, however.
"There's some soreness," said Howard, who played 24 minutes. "I have to work through the process of getting back to 100 percent, which I am not. But I'm just glad to get out there and play with my team."
Guard Jason Terry spoke of how nice it is to see Howard on the floor again: "He gives us another scoring option and you get to look at the lineup that everyone wants to see."
Terry was referring to a unit that included himself, Howard, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion and Dirk Nowitzki. "That's a dangerous lineup," Terry said.
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The Mavs did their best to make Howard feel at home in the game's early minutes by running several offensive plays for him, including a mistimed back door play on the first possession.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said before the game his expectations for Howard's return were somewhat tempered.
"Josh has gone through two surgeries in one day and a six-month rehab," Carlisle said. "He starts a new process of getting in the flow."
Howard said he plans to continue to go the basket to draw fouls. He said he doesn't want to become a shooting guard.
"I'm not going to change my game because I think it would mess up the chemistry of the team," he said.
