ATLANTA – Luke Dončić stamped his reservation to next month’s NBA All-Star game on Thursday when he was voted as one of
the five Western Conference players to start in the mid-season classic.
The next player from the Mavericks who may get a ticket to All-Star Weekend is center Dereck Lively II. The rookie from Duke has turned in a solid season this far – exceeding a lot of folks’ expectations – and likely will get a berth to participate in the NBA Rising Stars game.
When asked during Friday morning’s shootaround at State Farm Arena about that possibility, Lively said: “Hopefully, knock on wood, I’ll be able to make it. I’ll just try to go out there and have fun and just enjoy the time that I have.”
In 33 games for the Mavs this season, Lively is averaging 8.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and a team-high 1.4 blocks in 25.3 minutes. He also is shooting an incredible 74.2 percent from the field, which would lead the NBA, except he doesn’t have enough attempts.
“At the beginning (of the season) a lot of us didn’t know he was capable of all this,” coach Jason Kidd said. “We miss him when he’s out. He’s been great, but he still has a lot to learn and he’s up for that challenge.
“He has this energy about him that he loves to be coached, he wants to be good, he wants to always do the right thing.”
Lively doesn’t turn 20 until Feb. 12. In the meantime, he is thoroughly enjoying his last few days as a teenager.
“I’m just trying to be able to balance being a pro and being a teenager,” he said. “I’m 19. No one’s going to look at me at being 19.
“But at the same time everyone’s going to be the first person to point at me if I do something wrong. So, I’ve got to be able to carry myself right, I’ve got to be able to talk right, be able to move right to make sure no one on the outside media thinks that I’m doing the wrong thing.”
Around his junior year in high school in West Chester, PA, is about the time Lively figured he had the goods to make it to the NBA. And after playing just one season at Duke, he was the 12th overall pick of last summer’s NBA Draft.
“I knew that if I kept my head down and stayed focused throughout the coronavirus, I’d come out on top,” he said. “If only that I stayed with the routine that I had, which is getting up, working out, going to school, go to practice, stay late to work out and do whatever I can.”
That routine has obviously paid off for Lively. It also may lead to him earning a berth to the NBA Rising Stars game.
*This is only a one-game road trip for the Mavs. They return home after Friday’s game and will host the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night as the Mavs will be observing African American Heritage Night. The Mavs are 2-5 on the front end of a back-to-back.
*For the Hawks, this is the opener of a six-game home stand. They will host Toronto on Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, Phoenix on Feb. 2, Golden State on Feb. 3 and the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 5 before playing in Boston on Feb. 7. The Hawks are coming off a road loss at Golden State, 134-112, on Wednesday in a game Trae Young missed and Dejounte Murray finished with 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
*Dwight Powell (left eye corneal abrasion) will sit out his second straight game on Friday, while Kyrie Irving (right thumb sprain) is questionable and Maxi Kleber (right small toe dislocation) is probable.
*For the Hawks, Trae Young (concussion) and former Mavs guard Wesley Matthews (calf) are both questionable for Friday’s game, while De’Andre Hunter (knee) is out. The Hawks are 47-37 all-time against the Mavs, including a 27-15 record during games played in Atlanta.
*The Mavs are coming off Wednesday’s disappointing 132-109 home loss to the Phoenix Suns. That’s the 40th time this season the Mavs have scored 100 or more points. That ties for the fourth-most 100-point games through 44 games in franchise history.
*Against the Suns, the Mavs knocked down 17 three-pointers. That was their 26th game this season scoring 15 or more three-pointers. The Mavs are 20-6 this season when they convert at least 15 three-pointers in a game. They also have recorded the seventh-most games with 15 or more three-pointers through 44 games in NBA history.
*Luka Dončić, who was named Thursday to his fifth All-Star game in his first six seasons in the NBA, has drained multiple three-pointers in a Mavs franchise record 21 straight games. Dončić is second in the NBA in scoring (33.6), third in assists (9.3), ninth in steals (1.41), and also averages 8.5 rebounds per game. In addition, he has scored at least 30 points in six consecutive games.
*With 563 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. has scored the fifth-most points off the bench in the NBA this season, despite starting eight games and missing four others. Only Malik Monk, Bogdan Bogdanović, Norman Powell and Cole Anthony are ahead of Hardaway in that category. Hardaway played for the Hawks from 2015-17.
DALLAS MAVERICKS (24-20) at ATLANTA HAWKS (18-26)
When: 6 p.m., Friday
Where: State Farm Arena, Atlanta
TV: BSSW, NBA TV
Radio: 97.1 FM The Freak; 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish)
X: @DwainPrice
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