Rookie Dereck Lively II Comes Up Huge as Mavericks Punch Ticket to Western Conference Finals

The Mavericks needed every ounce of impact Lively II provided to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder.

May 18, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II (2) reacts after scoring / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

After the Dallas Mavericks edged out the Oklahoma City Thunder by a single point in Game 6, superstar Luka Doncic was asked about rookie Dereck Lively II’s contributions to their series-clinching victory:

“We wouldn’t win this series without D-Live, he’s been playing amazing. For a rookie, not being scared…it’s insane how he plays. The way he impacts the game [is] just amazing.”

- Luka Doncic

Lively II saved his most amazing performance for the final game of this Western Conference semi-final series. Despite coming off the bench, he played 30 minutes and finished as a +26. In other words, the Mavericks outscored the Thunder by 26 points in Lively II’s 30 minutes on the court. In his 18 minutes on the bench, Dallas lost by 25 points. The 7-foot-1 center’s dominance of the boards contributed to his massive impact. He grabbed 15 rebounds, with 4 of them being on the offensive end, 3 of which coming in the 4th quarter. Amongst these was a crucial game-tying putback dunk over Rookie Of The Year runner-up Chet Holmgren.

Lively II also converted on both of his other shot attempts in the final quarter off of feeds from Luka Doncic and Kyrie irving, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. 

Defensively, he notched a steal and a block while deterring rim attempts all night. 

In the Conference Finals, Lively II and the Mavericks will face a much harder test with either the Denver Nuggets or the Minnesota Timberwolves. They’ll battle for their bid in Game Seven tonight, but either opponent will demand even more excellence from Dallas’ young big man. Should they play Denver, he may fulfill the most difficult responsibility in the NBA at the moment: checking three-time MVP Nikola Jokic. Should Minnesota pull off the upset win, Lively II will have to protect the rim against Anthony Edwards’ fearsome attacks and score in a paint patrolled by Defensive Player Of The Year Rudy Gobert. 

But throughout his first postseason, Lively II has come up big when needed most, so there’s reason to believe he’s ready to take on his biggest challenge yet.

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