DALLAS _ When it comes to salvage, the Mavericks are certified experts.
For instance, most of this season on and off the court belongs in the junkyard with all the other rusted-out and broken-down clunkers.
But a different kind of salvage began Wednesday night. Call it the Nerlens Noel reclamation project.
The Mavericks would love it if the big man could pick himself up off the scrap heap, restore his value and be what the team hoped they were getting when they traded for him about a year ago.
Noel, of course, would like nothing better. Starting with the 111-110 overtime loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, Noel has a 21-game window to rebuild his name brand after missing three months because of ligament surgery near his left thumb. And frankly, he wasn't playing all that well before then, either, although we don't know how much of that was because of the injury.
Coach Rick Carlisle was pretty straightforward about what the final six weeks of the season will mean for Noel.
"It's the worst-kept secret in the world that he's playing for a contract _ let's be honest," Carlisle said. "And we want him to do well. Hey, we traded for him with the hope that he could be here long term. And sometimes things don't go exactly as planned.
"When the injury thing came up, he'd been having some problems catching the ball and his thumb was bending too far the wrong way. We had to get it right."
The recovery took longer than expected. But as he was able to catch the ball left-handed _ and his first bucket back in the first half Wednesday was a left-handed jump hook _ Noel was ready to start the process of trying to turn heads in his shortened season.
If his first game back was any indication, Carlisle wants to get a good look at how Noel pairs with rookie point guard Dennis Smith Jr. The duo was on the court together a lot and they had their moments.
But it was a defensive moment in the third quarter that probably gave Carlisle his biggest thrill of the night. Noel was in the difficult spot of having to stop Russell Westbrook on a breakneck drive to the basket.
As Westbrook took off for the rim, Noel rejected the shot and it bounced off of Westbrook's shoulder out of bounds.
"I know this," Carlisle said. "He's got fresh legs."
Noel ended up playing 16 minutes and while his numbers weren't going to turn heads _ four points, three rebounds and the big block on Westbrook. But in terms of rust knocked off, passionate play and energy, it was a successful return to action.
The next 20 games will determine whether Noel can build off of it and rebuild his name going into unrestricted free agency this summer.
In the loss, Westbrook took charge in overtime at American Airlines Center.
The Mavericks were up 110-108, but Westbrook's three-point play with 38.2 seconds left put the Thunder back in front.
Harrison Barnes, who had a team-best 26 points got called for an offensive foul, but Westbrook gave it right back with a similar foul with 17.6 seconds left.
After a non-shooting foul, the Mavericks called timeout with 6.1 left to set up the potential game-winner. But Dennis Smith Jr.'s corner jumper was off at the buzzer.
Westbrook finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
The Mavericks needed a buzzer-beating put-back by Dwight Powell to force overtime. It made up for two missed free throws with 1:08 to go by Powell, who had another strong overall night with 21 points and eight rebounds, hitting 10-of-13 shots.
