Mavericks' Dereck Lively II exits vs. Nuggets with ankle injury

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DALLAS — Dereck Lively II exited Tuesday’s Denver Nuggets-Dallas Mavericks game with a right ankle sprain. The Mavs announced before the second quarter that Lively will not return to the game. Lively has played a pivotal role in the Mavs’ recent success, and he will unquestionably be missed for the remainder of the game on Tuesday night.

Dereck Lively II suffers injury scare during Nuggets-Mavericks game

Injuries have unfortunately been problematic for Lively throughout his one and a half seasons in the NBA up to this point. When healthy, Lively has displayed signs of stardom.

The 20-year-old entered Tuesday’s game averaging 9.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.7 blocks per outing while shooting 70.1 percent on his field goal attempts.

Nuggets head coach Michael Malone had nothing but positive things to say about Lively before Tuesday’s game.

“I think Dereck Lively is a hell of a young talent… Dereck Lively’s upside and potential is obviously incredible and, you know, he was a big reason for the run that they had last season,” Malone said.

Lively’s impact on the Mavs is crucial to say the least.

All the Mavericks can do at the moment is hope that the injury is not too serious. Injuries have been far too common for the Mavs in the 2024-25 campaign. Kyrie Irving returned from injury on Tuesday while Luka Doncic is expected to be out until at least late January. It goes without saying, but the last thing Dallas needs is for Lively to miss a significant amount of time.

At the moment, the Mavs are focused on trying to defeat the Nuggets on Tuesday night. They were defeated by the Nuggets 112-101 on Sunday, so a bounce back win would be big for this Mavs team without question.

Meanwhile, we will continue to monitor and provide updates on Dereck Lively II’s injury status as they are made available.

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