The Dallas Mavericks earned a 122-84 Game 4 victory over the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals on Friday night. Dallas now trails Boston 3-1 in the series. Rookie center Dereck Lively II played well, scoring 11 points and recording 11 rebounds. Lively also made history in the game as he became the youngest player to make a three-point shot in the NBA Finals, according to StatMuse.
The three-point shot was also the first of Lively’s NBA career. Connecting on your first long-range attempt in the Finals is quite the accomplishment. Lively gave the credit to his late mom after the game.
“It’s for her. She helped me make it,” Lively said. “She’s going to help me make a lot more. She helped me make the free throw, she helped me make reads.
“I’m just thankful for having Luka (Doncic) pass me the ball in that position. I’m happy I knocked it down. Just got to be able to make the next one.”
Lively is often seen shooting three-pointers in practice and before games. He displayed the ability to connect on three-point attempts before his NBA career as well.
Perhaps we will see more threes from the center moving forward.
“If they leave me open in the corner, I’m going to get them up, for sure,” Lively added. “It’s just having that trust. Luka is going to give me the ball. As soon as I shot it, he kind of jumped for joy when it went in.
“Just having that reaction from my teammates is just amazing. Makes you want to just learn, just practice and just do more.”
Dereck Lively II’s big Game 4 helps Mavericks win
Lively’s scoring was helpful to the team, but his rebounding made the difference. Dallas won the rebound battle 52-31. They recorded 13 offensive rebounds compared to just four for Boston.
The 20-year-old has continued to make a difference throughout the postseason. There probably were not many people who would have expected a 20-year-old rookie to play such a pivotal role for an NBA Finals team. Yet, that is exactly what has occurred and the Mavericks will certainly not complain about it.
Lively impressed in Game 4, but he’s not comfortable yet. He knows there is still work to do.
“I’m not comfortable. We got to win, we got to have a lot more wins. We got to win a lot more of the little battles. Got to stay disciplined. We just got to replicate what we did this game. Do it the next one.”
Dereck Lively II credits his late mother after making his first career 3-pointer. #Mavericks #OneforDallas
“She helped me make it.” pic.twitter.com/1Y9t6IlV4z
— Joey Mistretta (@JoeyMistretta_) June 15, 2024
The Mavericks still have a long way to go. Trailing a star-studded team like the Celtics 3-1 in the NBA Finals is not an ideal scenario. But this Mavericks squad is extremely resilient and they will not go down without a fight, something that is evidenced by their Game 4 effort.
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