The Mavs fans were jumping for joy when they found out that their star rookie Dereck Lively II would suit up for tonight’s crucial game. Out since the accidental nasty blow he took to the back of his head from KAT in the third game, Lively was questionable before the game began. But realizing what’s at stake and with Lively feeling better, he was cleared to play in tonight’s Game 5. Unfortunately, his heroic comeback soon turned into another nightmare as the young gun re-injured his strained neck, leaving everyone concerned.

In an unfortunate series of events during the second quarter, Lively received a long-range pass from Luka inside the paint. As the rookie caught the ball, a trailing Naz Reid jumped with his arms up to block the possible shot. Instead, Reid’s swinging hand caught the back of Lively’s head, causing the rookie to take a hard fall on the hardwood. In a scary sight similar to Game 3, Lively immediately grabbed his neck in immense pain. Luckily, he got back up after some time and headed to the bench, flexing his neck.

Meanwhile, the officials went to the review center to check Reid for a volatile act. Then, after reviewing the footage, the officials penalized Reid with a flagrant foul for unnecessary contact to Lively’s head, resulting in loud boos from the fans at Target Center. And that foul resulted in two free throws for the rookie, which went one of two from the charity stripes in those shots. Luckily for the Mavs, Lively was not hurt enough to leave the game and continued to play, in what turned out to be a historic night for him and his team.

Dereck Lively II’s PERFECT Conference Finals debut

Despite playing through the series battered and bruised, Dereck Lively II didn’t let that affect his performances. Proving to be the X factor for his team, Lively had one of the best West Finals debut a rookie could have hoped for. Although he did not play in the fourth game and missed the majority of Game 3, for the rest of it Lively’s run was perfect. Not just metaphorically, he was actually perfect from the field throughout the series. Of all the sixteen shots he took against the Wolves, the rookie did not miss even a single time!

Even tonight, despite reinjuring his neck, Lively finished with nine points on a perfect three-of-three shooting. More importantly, the Mavs won every game in this series that Lively played in. And finishing the job tonight, they blew out the Wolves by 21 points to clinch their spot in the NBA Finals. Maybe, it might not have been possible if the Mavs did not have Lively in the lineup.

Living every rookie’s dream, the 20-year-old will now play in his first-ever NBA Finals for a chance to win the Championship. Do you believe he can keep this dream season going?

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow in what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, had to say about the marketing genius, watch this video.