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Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II left their 116-107 playoff win over the Timberwolves after taking an inadvertent knee to the back of his head from Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns.
The incident took place in the second quarter with Dallas leading, 43-33. Lively fell backward toward the court after contesting a missed jump shot by Mike Conley. As he fell to the court, the back of his head slammed into Towns' right knee as Towns jumped in an effort to corral the rebound.
Lively's head snapped forward, and he remained down on the court for several moments. He was eventually able to stand up and leave the court with the help of teammates. He was clearly woozy and headed straight for the locker room.
The Mavericks listed him as questionable at halftime with a neck sprain before ruling him out in the third quarter. He left the arena after the game to get a scan to determine the severity of his neck sprain, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon. He was not in the NBA's concussion protocol as of Sunday night.
Alongside the immediate concern about his health, the loss of Lively on Sunday and potentially beyond is a significant blow for the Mavericks.
Lively's contribution to Dallas playoff run
The 12th pick of the 2023 draft out of Duke, Lively's been a revelation for the Mavericks as a key contributor in their run to the Western Conference finals. An All-Rookie team selection, Lively averaged 8.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 blocks off the bench in 14 playoff games before Sunday.
His defense and presence in the post have been invaluable as Dallas has advanced past the Los Angeles Clippers and top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the postseason. He posted 11 points, 15 rebounds and a +26 in the plus/minus column in the Mavericks' closeout Game 6 win over the Thunder in the second round. He's yet to miss a field goal in two-plus games against Minnesota while shooting 13 of 13 from the field.
Per TNT, his +108 for the postseason is the second-best plus/minus by a rookie since 1997. A 7-1 center, his presence is key against a Timberwolves team that features three bigs in Towns, Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid.
Dallas entered Game 3 with a 2-0 series lead after winning Games 1 and 2 in Minnesota. The Mavericks, behind 66 combined points from Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving, pushed ahead to a nine-point win in Game 3 on Sunday night. That gave them a 3-0 series lead and now has them just a single win away from reaching their first NBA Finals since they won the title with Dirk Nowitzki in 2011. The Mavericks will have a chance to clinch the series win at home in Game 4 on Tuesday night.
Daniel Weinman was crowned winner of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Monday, taking home a record breaking $12.1 million in winnings. Weinman had to outlast the other 10,043 entrants to take home the prize and get his hands on his share of live poker’s largest ever prize pool – a staggering $93,399,900. As well as taking home the prize money, 35-year-old Weinman also got his hands on the WSOP Main Event bracelet. The huge bracelet contains 500 grams of 10-karat yellow gold, as well as 2,352 various precious gemstones.
Daniel Weinman won the World Series of Poker's main event world championship on Monday in Las Vegas, earning $12.1 million along the way. Playing in the tournament for a 16th year, Weinman was tops in a deep pool of 10,043 players vying for $93.39 million. His victory came after just 164 hands at the final table. "I was honestly on the fence about even coming back and playing this tournament," the 35-year-old Atlanta native told reporters afterward. Weinman's final table featured Jan-Peter Jachtmann, who landed in fourth place and took home $3 million, as well as Toby Lewis, who finished seventh and secured $1.42 million. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the main event's entry pool far outpaced the previous record of 8,773 set in 2006. "I've always kind of felt that poker was kind of going in a dying direction, but to see the numbers at the World Series this year has been incredible," Weinman said. "And to win this main event, it doesn't feel real. I mean, [there's] so much luck in a poker tournament. I thought I played very well." Steven Jones finished second, securing $6.5 million. And Adam Walton settled for third and a $4 million prize.
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