Mavs spoil Leonard’ season debut after missing 25 ties

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Kawhi Leonard made his long awaited return from injury but could not stop San Antonio from an upset defeat in Dallas on Tuesday night as LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a ninth straight win. Leonard, who missed the first 27 games of the season due to a thigh muscle injury, made an impressive cameo in his 15 minutes on court, scoring 13 points and pulling down six rebounds.

But when Leonard exited as expected early in the third quarter soon after helping the Spurs into a 55-50 lead, the Mavericks came back into the contest to run out 95-89 winners at the American Airlines Center. The defeat was a jolt for San Antonio, who fell to 19-9 for the season.