Pistons get a fresh Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs at the Palace this afternoon

The Dallas Mavericks got leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki back from injury this weekend but couldn’t snap their season-worst slide in his abbreviated return.

The Mavericks hope to have Nowitzki available for a full game Monday when they try to avoid their longest skid in 11 seasons by beating the host Detroit Pistons.

After missing nine consecutive games because of an ailing right knee, Nowitzki played Saturday night at Memphis but was ejected after arguing a foul with 8:08 left in the third quarter of an 89-70 loss, Dallas’ fifth in a row.

Nowitzki, averaging 23.6 points, finished with a season-low seven and missed five of seven shots in 15 minutes. He said he might need time to get back in the groove, and that could make it difficult to match his season-high 42 points in an 88-84 comeback win over the Pistons on Nov. 23.

The Mavericks (26-13) have won five straight against the Pistons (14-26) with Nowitzki averaging 29.0 points. He scored 25 points to lead Dallas to a 95-90 win last season at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Another high-scoring effort from Nowitzki might help the Mavericks avoid their first six-game skid since Feb. 29-March 9, 2000 - the nine-time All-Star forward’s second season in the NBA. Dallas has also dropped three in a row on the road - its longest slide since losing five straight Feb. 5-March 5, 2009.

The Pistons, though, might not make ending those skids easy as they’ve won three of four at home to improve to 10-9 there. They got a key blocked shot from their shortest player, 6-foot Will Bynum, in a 110-106 victory over Sacramento on Saturday night.

Detroit gave up 70 points in the first half but allowed 36 in the final 24, including 10 in the third period.

Pistons hasn’t won three in a row since April 6-9 and will try to take advantage of the Mavericks’ struggling defense. Dallas has given up an average of 101.6 points during its skid after previously allowing 93.2 per game.