The Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets entered Friday night's game with a 1-1 NBA Cup record and looking to take control of the Wild Card in the Western Conference. Denver got big news with Nikola Jokic returning to the lineup after missing the last three games, while the Mavs were without Luka Doncic.

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić will return to his team's lineup on Friday evening against the Dallas Mavericks after missing the past three games due

Nikola Jokic’s return made for outstanding theater in the NBA Cup, but the return of his alien stat lines for the Nuggets was not enough. In his first game back after welcoming a newborn son this week,

The stakes were significantly lower the last time the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets played against each other, just 12 days ago. Not this time around. The implications were higher for Friday’s meeting between the two teams because they entered the matchup with identical 1-1 records in the second-annual NBA Cup.

The Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets are set to play in an NBA Cup match on Friday night, looking to at least get the Wild Card in the Western Conference. Both teams are 1-1 in Group Play so far. Dallas enters this game without Luka Doncic,