The 3-point shot, in the “money time”, of Luka Doncic against Rudy Gobert is obviously the shot of this Game 2, and one of the shots of these 2024 playoffs. But another shot made the fans stand up of the Mavericks in this second round.
There are six minutes left and both teams are tied. Daniel Gafford counters a 3-point shot from Mike Conley, then is served by Luka Doncic, on a long pass, who has just taken the rebound. He wins in the air against the Minnesota playmaker, who loses his shoe in the process, and the Dallas pivot manages to score a layup, while falling!
“To tell the truth, I just threw the ball. It's a prayer”, he recognizes. “I kept my eyes on the basket, shot the ball and let God do the rest. He put the basket for me. »
Derek Lively II also sees a divine mark in this acrobatic shot. “We work on them”, he laughs. “By making a shot like that, we see that the basketball gods were with us. You have to have a little luck and it never hurts. »
Derek Lively II, precious rookie
Luck obviously does not explain the victory of the Mavericks since the two pivots particularly shone. Daniel Gafford finished with 16 points at 8/10 shooting and 5 rebounds, Derek Lively II with 14 points at 6/6 shooting and 9 rebounds. The calculation is simple: the duo combines 30 points, 14 rebounds and an almost perfect 14/16 shooting, without losing a single ball! All with 5 counters, for Gafford alone.
“He knows that when I come in, and he goes out, then he will have to do even better than me when he comes back. And vice versa “, explains the rookie from Dallas. “We feed off our energies”, adds Gafford. “As soon as I come out, I tell him to be a monster. He does the same with me. »
For Jason Kidd, it's a luxury to have two players of this level in this position. “It’s an excellent tandem. Gafford was much better and Lively II was good. He's a young man, a rookie who is making a run in the playoffs. He has the trust of his teammates. Our interiors were really good in this match”rejoices the coach.
We might tend to forget it, but Derek Lively II is indeed a rookie. For four matches, he has averaged 11.5 points (90% shooting success!) and 11.3 rebounds in just 26 minutes.
” He is incredible. He's been crazy all season. During these playoffs, he took not one or two, but three steps forward,” judge Luka Doncic. “He’s a rookie. People sometimes forget that he does all this in the Western Conference Finals. Its potential is enormous. »
