Key starters leave Mavericks-Nuggets hurt

The Dallas Mavericks played the Denver Nuggets for the second straight game on Tuesday night, with the Nuggets roaring out to a massive 26-point halftime lead after winning the first leg on Sunday. Part of building that big lead was a starter going out early in the first quarter for the Mavs.

Dereck Lively II rolled his ankle getting a rebound against Nikola Jokic and would leave the game for his normal substitution minutes after that. He would go back to the locker room where he would almost immediately be ruled out for the rest of the game with a right ankle sprain.

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Lively had four points in the four minutes he played, and Daniel Gafford and Dwight Powell haven’t been able to keep up with DeAndre Jordan, much less Nikola Jokic. Jamal Murray was the biggest reason for the big lead, but Dallas hasn’t been able to stop without Lively on the floor.

This is just another injury in a long line of them for the Mavs this season. They just got Kyrie Irving back after a five-game absence due to a back injury in this game, but he only managed to be on the floor for four minutes before another one went down. Luka Doncic is still out with a calf strain, Dante Exum hasn’t played since preseason wrist surgery, nearly everyone has been dealing with an illness, Klay Thompson missed some games with plantar fascia and Lively has missed games with various ailments. Hopefully it’s like Daniel Gafford’s sprained ankle last week and he doesn’t miss much time.

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