Mavericks' Parsons expected to return from ankle injury Sunday

The Dallas Mavericks are inching back to full strength as they jockey for playoff positioning during the final stretch of the season. 

After starting center Tyson Chandler returned from a three-game absence earlier in the week, Chandler Parsons appears ready to contribute for the first time this month. 

Parsons is expected to return to the court for Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers after missing seven consecutive games with a left ankle sprain, according to Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports.

The up-and-down Mavericks have gone 3-4 without their starting small forward and are coming off back-to-back blowout losses to a pair of Western Conference juggernauts. Dallas followed up a 19-point loss to the Portland Trail Blazers by getting pumped by the Golden State Warriors 104-89 on Friday. 

A 1-4 stretch over its last five games has dropped Dallas to sixth place in the ultra-competitive Western Conference and the San Antonio Spurs are threatening to drop their in-state rival even further. A four-game winning streak has the Spurs just a half game behind the Mavericks. 

Parsons, in his first season in Dallas, is averaging 15.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 33.1 minutes per game. He's averaging a team-leading two 3-pointers per contest on 37.5 percent shooting from long range.