Dallas Mavericks rookie Dereck Lively II dedicated his record-setting Western Conference Finals performance to his late mother Kathy Drysdale.
The Mavericks completed a gentleman’s sweep of the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 124-103 Game 5 victory at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn.
Lively finished with 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks on a perfect 3/3 shooting in the elimination game. The Mavericks rookie didn’t miss a single shot all series, going 16/16 in his four games played in the series.
Lively broke the NBA record for most consecutive shots without a miss in a playoff series. He dedicated his outstanding performance to his mother, who died last month following a 10-year fight with illness.
“Just keep watching from above,” Lively captioned a story post on Instagram.
Drysdale was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 2013, when Lively was just nine years old.
Lively missed Game 4 of the series, the Mavericks’ sole loss, after Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns unintentionally kneed him in the back of the head in Game 3.
Given that Lively relies heavily on Luka Doncic’s putback dunks and lobs, it’s easy to see how the rookie accomplished the accomplishment. But it’s still a remarkable performance given that the Timberwolves entered the game with the NBA’s best defense and four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert in the paint.
