The minutes didn't matter. The Denver Nuggets were just encouraged to see a uniform draping Nene's beefy body again, and that great smile splashed across his face once more. The big Brazilian forward played the final 77 seconds of the Nuggets' 118-105 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night, marking his return to the court 2 1/2 months after surgery to remove a malignant testicular tumor.