Mavericks’ Dereck Lively II swishes first career 3 in Game 4 of NBA Finals, leads inspired all-around effort

On Friday, Dereck Lively II was wide open in the right corner when he caught a kickout pass from Luka Doncic halfway through the first quarter. The Dallas Mavericks’ center was ready to shoot, and, without hesitation, he raised up and released it. 

It was not the first 3-point attempt of Lively’s rookie season, but his most recent one was exactly seven months earlier. He let it fly from the corner on Nov. 3 against the Denver Nuggets and Nov. 14 against the New Orleans Pelicans. He missed both.

In Game 4 of the NBA Finals, though, Lively’s shot was pure. He held his follow through as the ball fell through the net.

“I think people forget he’s a rookie,” Doncic told reporters. “He’s a rookie doing this stuff. And he’s been amazing the whole season. Just watching him grow was unbelievable. And it’s fun having him out there with me. And calling him my teammate, it’s unbelievable. And it’s a privilege to have him. And he’s 50% on the season, so he might as well keep shooting. He’s 1-for-2, right?”

Informed that Lively was actually 1-for-3, Doncic said, “All right. He’s 1-for-1, he’s 100% in the playoffs.”

Lively’s long-range surprise made the Dallas bench go bananas and Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum slump his shoulders. It also gave the Mavericks a 13-11 lead, which it would not relinquish. Dallas avoided a sweep with a 122-84 rout at American Airlines Center, and it led by as many as 48 points. Boston pulled its starters with more than three minutes remaining in the third quarter, down by 36.

Lively finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds, seven of them on the offensive glass, in 22 minutes. Immediately after the 3, he helped on a Jrue Holiday drive, recovered to contest Xavier Tillman at the rim, sprinted the the other way after the stop and slammed home an alley-oop from Kyrie Irving.

Less than a minute after that, Derrick Jones Jr. made a hanging, twisting, double-pump layup around Tatum. Before the first quarter ended, Josh Green had thrown down a putback dunk and P.J. Washington had made an above-the-break 3 in…

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Author : James Herbert

Publish date : 2024-06-15 04:26:05

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