Dereck Lively II threw up his arms and looked above after winning his first semifinal series with the Dallas Mavericks against the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was not hard to figure out that the Mavs center was recalling his late mother, Kathy Drysdale, during his celebration.
Following the Game 6 win, Lively wrote a beautiful message to his mother, “Love u momma, Miss u momma, just sit back n watch.” Drysdale was a strong lady and a basketball player who single-handedly taken care of Lively after his father’s demise when young Dereck was eight years old.
She fought with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a type of cancer, for more than a decade and finally gave up last month. Being close to his mother, the 20-year-old’s life turned upside down after she passed away. However, seeing her lifelong battle which continued even on her deathbed, Dereck gets the motivation to keep going in his career.
The Mavs struggled in the first two-quarters of the game, which allowed the Thunder to establish their 17-point dominance. As the game began in the third quarter, the Dallas franchise knew what they had to do to turn the tables. Their All-Star guard Luka Doncic led the way with his marvelous triple-double, 29-10-10, and got the support of Kyrie Irving and Derrick Jones Jr., who contributed 22 points each.
The one who came through in the game was Dereck with his crucial double-double of 12 points and 15 rebounds, which got the credit that it deserved.
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Dereck Lively II Earns Praise From Luka Doncic
Dereck Lively II averaged 7.7 points, an outstanding 7.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in the six games the rookie played against the OKC in the playoffs. With his brilliant contribution in the semifinal series, he earned the praise of Luka Doncic.
During a postgame interview with ESPN, Doncic said, “Yeah, we don’t win this series without D-Live. He’s been playing amazing. A rookie, not being scared, it’s insane how he play, how he impacts the game, so just amazing, man.” Doncic’s connection with Lively was evident on multiple occasions throughout the season and the mentorship is only pushing the 20-year-old to greater heights.
The Mavericks will proceed to the next part of the elimination series, the Western Conference Finals. Whoever will win the semis between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets on Sunday will face the Mavs in the penultimate series before the NBA Finals.
Also Read: “It’s Insane How He Play”- Luka Doncic Showers Praises for Rookie Dereck Lively II After Game 6 Win
