Tag: Dallas Mavericks

Mavericks’ Jason Kidd provides practice update on Dereck Lively II

Lively has participated fully in two practice sessions this week after missing the last eight games of the season with a knee sprain.

Dallas Mavericks rookie Dereck Lively II has participated fully in two practice sessions this week after missing the last eight games of the season with a knee sprain, coach Jason Kidd said on Thursday.

Lively sustained the injury on March 31 in a win over the Houston Rockets. He appears to be trending toward playing on Sunday as the No. 5 Mavericks begin the first round of the playoffs against the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers.

The 12th pick is practicing following the passing of his mother, Kathy Drysdale, on April 12 after an 11-year battle with cancer. He penned a touching tribute and wore a No. 42 Mavericks jersey with her name inscribed on it that evening on the bench as the team hosted Detroit.

Kidd was in awe of his strength to remain with the team.

He has done incredible. He is an incredible young man, and his spirit is in a good place of what he is going through off the floor. You wouldn’t know with the way that he practiced today. We all know being with him yesterday of what he is going through, so as a 20-year-old, he has been incredible. We’re here to support what he is going through off the floor, but he came to work today and did a great job.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C5ra9AjJRAH/?img_index=1

Lively emerged as a key player for the Mavericks in the starting lineup and as a reserve this season; the team posted a 16-6 record when he scored in double figures. He has been a force on the glass and has provided tremendous rim protection since joining the team.

The 7-footer averaged 8.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 assists on 74.7% shooting from the field in 55 games this season. He led the rookie class in field-goal percentage and finished third in blocks and rebounds per game.

Lively finished the season with the highest field-goal percentage by any rookie in history. He also became just the fifth rookie to record two games with at least 20 points on 90% shooting from the field or better in the same season.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 tag=1407]

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd reveals possible injury timetable for Dereck Lively

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said that rookie Lively could miss the remainder of the regular season due to right knee soreness.

Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said on Tuesday that rookie Dereck Lively II could miss the remainder of the regular season due to right knee soreness.

Lively sustained the injury on Sunday in a win over the Houston Rockets. He was eventually ruled out of returning to the game by the medical staff after recording two points, two rebounds, two blocked shots and one steal in 13 minutes of work.

The 12th pick didn’t play on Tuesday in a loss against the Golden State Warriors. The team should know more about the severity of the injury upon returning to Dallas on Wednesday.

“It could be two weeks where he could be out, but we’ll see how he feels,” Kidd said. “We’ll take it day by day, but, hopefully, he is back sooner than later.”

The Mavericks wrap up the regular season on April 14, so a two-week timetable could put Lively out of the lineup until the postseason. The team is in fifth place and would avoid the play-in tournament (April 16-19) if it holds its current position.

Lively is averaging 8.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 assists on 74.7% shooting from the field in 55 games. He leads the rookie class in field-goal percentage and ranks third in total blocks (77) and fifth in total rebounds (378).

The 7-footer has emerged as a key player for the Mavericks in the starting lineup and as a reserve this season. He has been a force on the glass and has provided tremendous rim protection since joining the team.

The Mavericks project to have the necessary depth to play without Lively after adding Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington ahead of the trade deadline. The team will be looking to rely on them and others with Lively out.

“It is always good to have depth in the sense of our center position when you talk about Maxi (Kleber) and (Dwight Powell),” Kidd said. We can go small with PJ at the five if we have to. To be able to have guys who can play center with (Lively) out is good.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 tag=1407]

Mavs star Luka Doncic beats out Houston’s Jalen Green for March Player of the Month

After a 13-2 month by the Rockets, Jalen Green was a West Player of the Month nominee in March. The award, however, went to Dallas’ Luka Doncic.

Led by an efficient 47 points from perennial All-Star guard and MVP candidate Luka Doncic, the red-hot Dallas Mavericks ended the month of March with Sunday’s statement win at Houston, snapping an 11-game win streak for the Rockets.

In addition to the impact on the standings and potential postseason implications in the Western Conference, that performance may also have decided the West’s Player of the Month award for that month.

Despite a brilliant month of March that led to Green being a nominee for the award, Doncic received it, according to the NBA’s announcement on Tuesday.

Here’s a look at the monthly statistics for both players:

  • Doncic: (14 games): 32.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, 10.1 assists, 4.3 turnovers per game; 47.0% FG, 38.1% on 3-pointers, plus 6.4 plus/minus
  • Green (15 games): 27.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.3 turnovers per game; 49.2% FG, 40.8% on 3-pointers, plus 11.3 plus/minus

The Mavs went 11-4 in the month, while the Rockets were 13-2.

As for individual recognition, Green received the first Player of the Week award of his three-year NBA career in mid-March. So, it’s not as if he leaves the month empty handed.

Doncic and Green will do battle once more this season when Houston visits Dallas on Sunday. Tipoff is at 2:30 p.m. Central.

[lawrence-related id=122704,122040]

Luka Doncic made a 21-foot underhand shot and it wasn’t his most ridiculous shot of the night

What made Luka Doncic even attempt either of these shots?!

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic was basically playing an entirely different sport than everyone else on Sunday night.

Doncic recorded 47 points in a much-needed victory over the Houston Rockets. He also added 12 rebounds and seven assists while shooting 9-of-16 on his 3-pointers. It was a dominant performance from Doncic, who is in the midst of an MVP-caliber campaign for Dallas.

While the stats were impressive during this outing for the Mavericks star, nothing was as memorable as the ridiculous finger roll that he took in the third quarter. Leading by more than 20 points, Doncic decided to get a bit creative.

Doncic somehow decided to have the courage to attempt an underhanded finger roll from 21 feet away from the basket.

Usually those kind of looks are reserved for layups and floater range but he thought it would work from near the 3-point line. Somehow, he was right.

What is most unbelievable, though, is that this wasn’t even the most absurd attempt that Doncic made that night.

 

Although it was the most audacious that he tried during game action, he had a trick shot before the game that was even harder to process.

Before tipoff, he threw the ball off the scoreboard for a shot that somehow landed perfectly in the hoop. It made absolutely no sense and it was such a joy to watch.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1373 tag=421394721]

Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: March 18-24

A couple of good games between the two this past week.

[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] had a couple of decent games this past week for the Milwaukee Bucks. It began March 20 when he scored seven points and five rebounds in a loss to the Boston Celtics, potentially an Eastern Conference finals preview. He was even better March 24 against the Oklahoma City Thunder with 11 points. It might have helped to have fellow Notre Dame legend and Milwaukee native [autotag]Arike Ogunbowale[/autotag] in attendance:

Whatever the case, Connaughton averaged 6.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists a game for the week.

[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] grabbed four rebounds in the San Antonio Spurs’ March 19 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. His March 23 game against the Phoenix Suns might have been the best of his career. He scored 12 points to go with three assists, two steals and a block. Over the week, he had averages of 4.3 points and 2.0 rebounds a game.

Photographers were on hand to catch Notre Dame’s NBA representation. Here is some of what they captured:

NBA Twitter reacts to Kyrie Irving’s game-winner vs. Nuggets: ‘Most skilled player ever…’

Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to Kyrie Irving’s wild game-winner vs. Denver.

Kyrie Irving hit a ridiculous left-handed hook shot from behind the free-throw line to win the game for the Mavericks at the buzzer against the Denver Nuggets.

As Kyrie’s name was trending on the social media platform, NBA Twitter exploded last night.

Here are the best reactions from fans, media members, and players.

Jalen Williams explains why he brings energy and interacts with fans, crowd

Jalen Williams explains why he brings energy and interacts with fans, crowd.

As Cason Wallace collected a missed 3-pointer, Jalen Williams found a lane and sprinted toward the basket for the vicious one-hand slam that served as the dagger on Thursday night.

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s 126-119 win over the Dallas Mavericks resembled a playoff atmosphere. A national TV audience gained a glimpse at the homecourt advantage fans usually produce for OKC.

“Definitely felt like a playoff atmosphere, our crowd’s been really good this year,” Williams said. “That was dope. It was definitely a competitive game. You can kinda feel the tension these last 15, 16 games. I think everybody’s trying to settle into a spot, so a lot of these games are gonna feel like that.

“That’s always good to have these reps before getting into the playoffs and it definitely felt like one of the most competitive games of this year.”

In his return from a one-game absence, Williams scored 27 points and had three blocks. His impact was felt immediately; he was the Thunder’s second-best player in their impressive win.

As he has all season, Williams embraced the crowd’s excitement, cheering them on after massive plays. The second-chance basket was one of the more animated reactions from him. When asked about his energy, he said he tries to make every game a memorable experience for fans.

”We have really good fans here and I like being here,” Williams said. “It’s always fun to just be able to interact. Sam Presti made a good point to us just talking about how you don’t know what people are going through to be able to get to the games and stuff like that.

“I think anytime you can kinda engage with the fans during the game, I think it kinda leaves everybody with a cool impression of the game. You don’t know whose first game it is or what the circumstances might be for people coming here, so anytime I can interact with fans, I think it’s really fun.”

This is a thoughtful mindset for Williams, who continues to be the Thunder’s lead energy guy. As OKC continues to ascend, there will be plenty of chances for the 22-year-old to create more moments like his game-sealing jam against the Mavericks.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Full injury report for Thursday’s Mavericks vs. Thunder matchup

Full injury report for Thursday’s Mavericks vs. Thunder matchup.

The Oklahoma City Thunder finish a four-game homestand when they host the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday for a national television game. It’ll be the penultimate matchup between the two squads; each has one win in the season series.

The Thunder (45-20) welcome back Jalen Williams from a one-game absence due to an ankle sprain.

Ousmane Dieng (G League assignment), Keyontae Johnson (G League two-way), Olivier Sarr (G League two-way) and Adam Flagler (G League two-way) are out.

Meanwhile, the Mavericks (38-28) will be without Luka Doncic (hamstring soreness), who suffered the injury late in their win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.

Brandon Williams (wrist sprain), Olivier-Maxence Prosper (G League assignment), Greg Brown III (G League two-way) and Alex Fudge (G League two-way) are also out.

In their last contest, the Thunder struggled to make up for Williams’ absence in their loss to the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers dictated the pace and scored 73 points inside of the paint against OKC.

Last time out, Dallas scored 146 points and blew out OKC with its new trade deadline acquisitions on Feb. 10.

Tip off from Oklahoma City is set for 9 p.m. CT.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

DeMar DeRozan set to put Bulls’ blowout loss to Mavericks behind them

DeMar DeRozan emphasized the importance of putting the Chicago Bulls’ loss to the Dallas Mavericks behind them.

As the season nears its end, the Chicago Bulls are really only fighting for postseason positioning with the Atlanta Hawks. It’s almost certain that they’ll be in the 9/10 game of the Play-In Tournament, but it’s unclear whether or not they will have homecourt advantage for that game, as they are being contested by Atlanta.

With that in mind, every game is important for the Bulls down the stretch. Unfortunately, they got blown out of the water on Monday night. The Dallas Mavericks were in town and earned a 127-92 win over the Bulls, as Luka Doncic and their big men, Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II, completely took over.

However, DeMar DeRozan stated the importance of putting that game behind them. (H/t Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune)

“I feel like every team is due for a butt-kicking of some sort,” DeRozan said. “We’ve got to let [the Mavericks game] be our last and only one the rest of the season.”

Chicago will have a chance to bounce back on Wednesday night against the Indiana Pacers.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Bulls were ‘humiliated’ by Luka Doncic in loss to Mavericks

Luka Doncic “humiliated” the Chicago Bulls in their 127-92 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

It’s been a weird season for the Chicago Bulls. While an ugly start didn’t give fans much hope for a fruitful season, the Bulls are still firmly in the Play-In race, and they’ll almost assuredly be in the 9/10 game. They’ve been sneakily solid ever since their rough start, yet they still don’t have the talent to compete with the top teams around the league.

That last point was evidently clear on Monday night, as the Bulls suffered a blowout loss at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks. Former Bull Daniel Gafford and rookie big man Dereck Lively II played well, but it was ultimately the play of superstar guard Luka Doncic that caused Chicago’s demise.

The CHGO Sports YouTube channel discussed the game and how the Bulls were “humiliated” by Doncic in the 127-92 loss.

Doncic finished the game with 27 points, 12 rebounds, and 14 assists while shooting 9-of-23 from the field and 6-of-15 from beyond the three-point arc.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]