If you are having the following issue :
ping IP -> Success ping NETBIOS -> Success nslookup xyz.local -> Success ping xyz.local -> FAILURE
The solution is to edit /etc/nsswitch.conf and remove the text “[NOTFOUND=return]”
More on that here:
Avahi and dot-local addresses on Ubuntu
https://andrewgdotcom.wordpress.com/2007/09/28/avahi-and-dot-local-addresses-on-ubuntu-gutsy/