Dereck Lively’s coming out party helped the Mavericks get to the Western Conference Finals.
And the rookie center helped elevate the team’s frontcourt en route to a Game 6 and series-clinching win over the Thunder.
Lively is still playing with a heavy heart — his mother, Kathy, died last month due to cancer — and he posted a tribute to her following his Game 6 performance during the Mavericks’ 117-116 win, in which he had 12 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block.
“Love u momma, miss u momma, just sit back n watch,” he wrote on his Instagram story.
Lively penned a heartfelt post on his Instagram following her passing on April 12.
“My heart breaks saying goodbye to the most important person in the world to me, my best friend, my superhero, my biggest cheerleader and mom, Kathy Drysdale,” he wrote. “There is no one in this world that can love you more than your mother. As strong and stubborn as she is I have watched her struggle, fight and survive cancer for the past 11 years and now her battle has ended surround by family, friends and her teammates.”
He later added, “My mom was a beautiful soul, loved by every person who crossed her path and by every team I have played for from Team Final to West Town to Duke to the Mavericks.”
After a quiet first two outings, Lively averaged 10.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in the last four games of the series, recording two double-doubles and shooting 54.2 percent from the field in the process.
Lively is the team’s backup center behind trade deadline acquisition Daniel Gafford, but the two have virtually split minutes at the five since becoming teammates.
The Mavericks will be on the road for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, visiting either the Timberwolves or Nuggets after the pair of teams meet for Game 7 on Sunday.
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