Takeaway: Lively has added a new wrinkle to his vastly improved game

 Dereck Lively II has added a new and effective wrinkle to his game.

Not only is the Dallas Mavericks’ second-year center a major threat with the lob dunk. But over the offseason, Lively added the jump hook shot to his vastly improving arsenal.

The addition – on full display during Monday’s game against the Utah Jazz — will make Lively even more difficult to defend.

“I’ve been working on that a lot this summer and just being more consistent,” he said. “I missed a couple – right hand and left hand.

“So, it’s just getting back into the gym and making sure I’m focusing on my touch and just keeping it going. No matter how many shots I miss, I’ve got to be confident taking the next one.”

Lively tallied 14 points on 7-of-10 shots during the 110-102 victory over the Jazz. He was very efficient around the rim, and even threw down an electrifying reverse dunk which he worked on during pre-game warmups that got the crowd all fired up.

“You focus on that, you focus on practicing your footwork, your steps and your reads,” Lively said in explaining the jump hooks. “And it’s getting the ball in that position, and it just makes it go automatic whenever you practice it.

“Having my teammates stand up and having the fans stand up, it just gets the team going and energizes the place.”

Lob dunks – mainly negotiated on the back end by Daniel Gafford and Lively – helped energize American Airlines Center and were key reasons why the Mavs were able to march all the way to last season’s NBA Finals. But so far this season the Mavs have only had a pair of lob dunks, and both of them came against the Jazz.

“It really just comes down to us playing a different game,” said Lively, who collected a lob dunk on Monday. “There are definitely times where we look and we see that there’s three or four people pulling in and making sure we don’t get a lob.

“I feel like everyone watched us play throughout the whole (2024) postseason, so that’s why everyone is focused on the lob because we were lob city last year. That’s one thing that gets us going, so teams are focused in on that.”

Lively has given those same teams something else they have to focus on. His jump hook.

Here are the takeaways from the eight-point win over the Jazz.

AN IRVING TAKEOVER: With Luka Dončić struggling to find his shot, Kyrie Irving stepped in and took charge of the situation. While scoring a game-high tying 23 points, Irving was 8-of-14 from the field, including 3-of-6 from beyond the three-point line. He also pulled down six rebounds and distributed a game-high nine assists.

DINWIDDIE DID HIS THING: Against the Jazz, Spencer Dinwiddie showed exactly why the Mavs were so eager to get him back on their roster. After not playing in this past Saturday’s game in Phoenix, Dinwiddie responded with 11 points against the Jazz. That includes converting three three-pointers in the third quarter when the Mavs started getting some separation between themselves and the Jazz.

THOMPSON FITTING IN NICELY: Klay Thompson continues to show that he can fit into any offense. On Monday, Thompson fired in 18 points on 7-of-15 shots. The former member of the Golden State Warriors also was 4-of-11 from three-point range. Thus, in his three games since the Mavs signed him over the summer via free agency, Thompson is 15-of-33 from downtown for 45.5 percent.

X: @DwainPrice