Howard gets a taste of action

Josh Howard got into his first scrimmage of the preseason today, going through about half of the Mavericks' five-on-five workout. He has been making a slow, steady comeback from major ankle surgery and today represents a good step toward a full recovery. The 6-7 shooting guard received clearance from doctors on Monday to begin contact drills. "I was able to get out there and give it a shot,'' Howard said. "I just got to work through the pain. It's the first time i actually did contact stuff. So i have to keep doing rehab.'' He added that it is a relief knowing that, at some point, his ankle will be pain-free, although he's not there yet. "That was the whole purpose of the surgery,'' he said. "Being still for, like, 23 weeks, and you start back doing contact stuff, you're going to have aches and pains.'' Howard and coach Rick Carlisle said there is no timetable for him getting into a preseason game, of which there are four left. --Eddie Sefko