The return of swingman Mike Dunleavy is expected to greatly improve the movement of the Pacers' offense.

Dunleavy made his season debut on Friday in a loss to the Mavericks. He missed most of last season with a lingering knee issue.

His first basket came on a backdoor layup, something Indiana coach Jim O'Brien wants to see more of.

"I can count on one hand how many backdoor layups we've had this year, and last year it was a staple for us," O'Brien said. "We're trying to re-establish our movement game, which is one that starts with the fact that we'd rather pass than dribble.

"Michael personifies the type of movement we want. It doesn't have to do with blinding speed. It has to be purposeful movement, which is what he's very, very good at."

Dunleavy will be limited to 20 minutes for the foreseeable future, but the 13 points in 16 minutes he had against Dallas showcased his potential impact.

"He's constantly moving, so he can create without the ball in his hands, which is what you need," teammate Danny Granger said. "And he brings another shooter, which we really need. And he's a veteran, so he knows what he's doing.

"A lot of players kind of beg for the ball or get caught up standing in one spot. Mike's constantly moving, and his movement makes other people move. He gets other people shots and makes the offense flow better."

Pacers swingman Mike Dunleavy will make his season debut on Friday night against the Mavericks.

Dunleavy has been recovering from knee surgery since the spring.

He revealed in his NBA.com blog that he would in fact return against Dallas. The Indianapolis Star had reported on Friday morning that Dunleavy was day-to-day.

Dunleavy averaged 19.1 points and 5.2 rebounds in 2007-08, but appeared in just 18 games last season.

"The day has arrived that I can finally say I'm back," he wrote on his blog.

Pacers coach Jim O'Brien has taken Dahntay Jones out of the starting lineup.

Jones is having a career-year for Indiana after signing a four-year, $11 million deal this offseason.

However, O'Brien has replaced him with Brandon Rush in the starting lineup.

"I think Dahntay deserves to start, but I think it's better for our rotation if Dahntay comes off the bench," O'Brien said. "Dahntay knows I think he's a starter."

O'Brien says he'll stick to a starting lineup of Rush. T.J. Ford, Danny Granger, Troy Murphy and Roy Hibbert when the team returns to full strength.

"The whole plan throughout the preseason was to pretty much play the team that we had success with at the end of last year," O'Brien said, "but we weren't healthy enough to do that."

Pacers forward Mike Dunleavy has been cleared to return to the court, but isn't in proper shape yet.

"He has not practiced enough full court that we're comfortable just throwing him out there," coach Jim O'Brien said. "When he feels like he's in NBA shape, then he'll be back."

Dunleavy had surgery this past spring to remove a bone spur in his right knee. Right after the surgery, the Pacers announced that they didn't expect the forward to return until at least 2010.

The Indiana Pacers announced Friday that guard Travis Diener underwent successful surgery on the big toe of his left foot.

Diener is expected to be out four to six weeks.

Thursday marked the five-year anniversary of one of the worst brawls in U.S. sports history.

On November 19, 2004, Ron Artest, then with the Pacers, went into the stands in Detroit to go after a fan that had thrown a cup of beer on him.

John Green, the fan that helped initiate the incident, spoke on ESPN's "First Take" Thursday. He said that Artest called him several months ago to apologize.

"He said that he was sorry, that ... the whole thing embarrassed him as it did me," Green said. "He wanted to do something for the community for troubled youth. Of course, I can't do much on this end without him.

"We tried to come up with something to give back to the community and come up with something positive. It's not like it's not always going to be known as the brawl, but maybe we could take something good out of it. We're going to try to do something in inner-city Detroit or L.A., maybe after the season ends and he has more free time on his hands."

Green was convicted of misdemeanor assault, ordered to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and banned from Detroit home games for life.

Artest was suspended for 73 games, the remainder of the 2004-05 season, and lost roughly $5 million in salary.

"I remember throwing the cup, actually a cup of Diet Coke, not a beer, but I had been drinking and I've had issues with alcohol in the past," Green added "I remember [Artest] running into the stands and grabbing the wrong person and I felt bad. I grabbed Artest from behind, the whole thing was kind of a huge blur. It happened so fast."

The Pacers extended their winning streak to five games while keeping the Nets winless on Tuesday night in New Jersey.

- Cleveland 114, Golden State 108

Team FIC Differential: Cavaliers +16.4, Warriors -16.4

The Cleveland Cavaliers (8-3) narrowly edged past the Golden State Warriors (3-7) on Tuesday night. LeBron James starred with 31 points and 12 assists, J.J. Hickson posted 21 points and nine rebounds and Maurice Williams added 16 points, eight boards and six dimes. Cleveland hit 58% of their shots, but allowed Golden State to grab 12 offensive rebounds. Monta Ellis had 23 points and eight assists, Corey Maggette tallied 19 points and 11 rebounds and Stephen Curry contributed 14 points, seven dimes and five boards.

Game FIC Scores

LeBron James, Cleveland ? 28.8

J.J. Hickson, Cleveland ? 19.0

Maurice Williams, Cleveland ? 15.8

Corey Maggette, Golden State ? 14.0

- Oklahoma City 100, Miami 87

Team FIC Differential: Thunder +22.5, Heat -22.5

The Oklahoma City Thunder (5-5) used a strong third quarter to record a road victory over the Miami Heat (7-2) at AmericanAirlines Arena. Kevin Durant excelled with 32 points, nine rebounds and five assists, Russell Westbrook tallied 24 points and seven dimes and Nenad Krstic put up 10 points and eight boards in the win. Oklahoma City held Miami to 43% shooting and turned the ball over 11 times. Dwyane Wade had 22 points, seven assists and six rebounds, Jermaine O?Neal posted 19 points and 10 boards and Daequan Cook scored 17 points on 5-for-11 shooting off the bench.

Game FIC Scores

Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City ? 20.4

Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City ? 19.0

Jermaine O?Neal, Miami ? 15.1

Dwyane Wade, Miami ? 14.8

- Indiana 91, New Jersey 83

Team FIC Differential: Pacers +15.5, Nets -15.5

The Indiana Pacers (5-3) won their fifth straight as they kept the New Jersey Nets (0-11) winless on the season. Danny Granger led with 22 points and seven rebounds, Roy Hibbert posted 19 points and 10 boards and Dahntay Jones totaled 17 points, five rebounds and four assists. Both teams shot under 40%, but Indiana went 25-for-31 from the foul line and forced 18 turnovers. Brook Lopez starred with 26 points and 16 rebounds, Chris Douglas-Roberts tallied 27 points and 12 boards and Rafer Alston notched 14 points and seven rebounds in the loss.

Game FIC Scores

Roy Hibbert, Indiana ? 22.2

Brook Lopez, New Jersey ? 21.2

Danny Granger, Indiana ? 14.9

Chris Douglas-Roberts, New Jersey ? 13.9

- New Orleans 110, L.A. Clippers 102

Team FIC Differential: Hornets +20, Clippers -20

Jeff Bower got his first win as head coach of the New Orleans Hornets (4-8) on Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Clippers (4-8). David West led with 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, Emeka Okafor tallied seven points and 14 boards and Devin Brown added 16 points on 4-for-10 shooting. New Orleans outrebounded Los Angeles by 15 and attempted 12 more foul shots. Al Thornton scored a game-high 30 points, Baron Davis tallied 23 points and nine assists and Chris Kaman contributed 17 points and six rebounds in defeat.

Game FIC Scores

David West, New Orleans ? 22.8

Baron Davis, Los Angeles ? 15.1

Marcus Camby, Los Angeles ? 13.2

Al Thornton, Los Angeles ? 13.1

- Phoenix 111, Houston 105

Team FIC Differential: Suns +12.4, Rockets -12.4

The Phoenix Suns (10-2) used a strong fourth quarter to record a victory over the Houston Rockets (6-5) at the Toyota Center. Amare Stoudemire had 23 points and six rebounds, Steve Nash tallied 12 points and 16 assists and Jason Richardson put up 20 points and five boards. Phoenix shot 51% from the floor and attempted 19 more free throws against Houston. Carl Landry had 27 points and nine rebounds, Aaron Brooks posted 16 points and 13 assists and Trevor Ariza totaled 19 points and nine boards.

Game FIC Scores

Carl Landry, Houston ? 19.5

Steve Nash, Phoenix ? 15.9

Trevor Ariza, Houston ? 15.8

Aaron Brooks, Houston ? 14.9

- Denver 130, Toronto 112

Team FIC Differential: Nuggets +19.4, Raptors -19.4

The Denver Nuggets (8-3) outscored the Toronto Raptors (5-6) by 18 points in the second half on Tuesday night. Carmelo Anthony led with 32 points and five assists, Nene posted 20 points and 10 rebounds and J.R. Smith scored 29 points on 11-for-17 shooting off the bench. Denver drilled 61% of their shots, which allowed them to overcome Toronto?s 15 rebounding edge. Rookie DeMar DeRozan scored a team-high 17 points, Chris Bosh tallied 13 points and 14 rebounds and Jose Calderon contributed 16 points and seven assists in the loss.

Game FIC Scores

Nene, Denver ? 26.1

Carmelo Anthony, Denver ? 20.8

Chris Bosh, Toronto ? 14.5

J.R. Smith, Denver ? 13.8

- Chicago 101, Sacramento 87

Team FIC Differential: Bulls +27.1, Kings -27.1

The Chicago Bulls (6-4) jumped out to an early lead and didn?t look back against the Sacramento Kings (5-5) at ARCO Arena. John Salmons had 23 points and five rebounds, Joakim Noah tallied 15 points and 14 boards and Luol Deng added 16 points and 10 rebounds on the road. Chicago shot 46% on the night and forced Sacramento to turn the ball over 21 times. Donte Greene had 24 points and five rebounds, Jason Thompson posted eight points and nine boards and rookie Tyreke Evans scored 20 points on 8-for-19 shooting.

Game FIC Scores

Joakim Noah, Chicago ? 20.2

Luol Deng, Chicago ? 17.0

John Salmons, Chicago ? 14.8

Tyreke Evans, Sacramento ? 11.5

- L.A. Lakers 106, Detroit 93

Team FIC Differential: Lakers +18.9, Pistons -18.9

The Detroit Pistons (5-6) made an impressive run in the fourth quarter, but it was too late against the Los Angeles Lakers (8-3). Kobe Bryant starred with 40 points, five rebounds and five assists, Andrew Bynum posted 17 points and 12 boards and Lamar Odom added eight points, eight rebounds and eight dimes. Both clubs shot 47%, but Los Angeles outrebounded Detroit by twelve. Will Bynum led with 24 points and six assists, Jason Maxiell tallied 13 points and seven rebounds and Ben Gordon scored 18 points on fifteen shots.

Game FIC Scores

Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles ? 23.6

Andrew Bynum, Los Angeles ? 16.0

Will Bynum, Detroit ? 18.8

Jason Maxiell, Detroit ? 12.6

? RealGM calculates the Floor Impact Counter using the following formula: (Points + .75 Defensive Rebounds + Offensive Rebounds + Steals + Assists + Blocks - .75 Field Goal Attempts - .375 Free Throw Attempts - Turnovers - .5 Personal Fouls)

( )'s indicate a negative FIC score.

It is also used to rank players and to determine their ?Reina Value.? Click here to view the player rankings with the Reina Value for the current season

Eddy Curry is set to make his season debut on Wednesday at Indiana. Mike D'Antoni is planning to insert the center in the first half and will monitor his progress from there.

Curry has shed a significant amount of weight and overcome injuries to get himself in playing shape.

"He hasn't played in a year and a half," D'Antoni said. "What he showed me was that he was in shape and he's still rusty. He did pretty good."

Mike Dunleavy practiced with the Pacers on Friday for the first time since February.

Dunleavy, who is working his way back from right knee surgery in March, is limited to practicing in the halfcourt.

"It's tremendous that he was able to play in the halfcourt," Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said. "He's so important in many aspects of the team. He's really almost like a genius offensively from a standpoint of how he moves. He has a way of modeling of what we want in our passing game."

"At this point we're going by the old clich? of one day at a time," Dunleavy said. "Literally we're going to do that and see how I feel tomorrow and then take it from there. The main thing is I feel good today."

Pacers forward Danny Granger has struggled to find his shot this season and his bruised right heel may be a factor.

"After games, it's really, really sore and really annoying," Granger said of the heel.

He is shooting just 38.7% from the field and 29.4% from three-point land this season. He had averages of 44.7% and 40.4% in 2008-09.

"It might be an issue of the way I'm shooting. It might be the choice of shots I'm taking," Granger added. "It might be the shots I got last year. I just have to find a different niche in this offense of where I'm going to get my shots at. I think I'm trying to figure it out as well as teammates are trying to figure it out."