The Mavericks beat the Timberwolves again last night and are just one step away from reaching the NBA Finals. Such a situation is undoubtedly worthy of a smile, but in Game 3 the expression was somewhat contorted upon seeing Derek Lively go down injured.

It was exactly 8:35 minutes left in the second quarter when the rookie took a knee to the back of the head from Karl-Anthony Towns. It was a fortuitous act, as the Dallas player fell asleep after jumping to defend an action by Mike Conley.

After lingering on the hardwood for a few minutes without getting up, Lively finally got up and slowly walked toward the locker room with the help of his teammates. Although he was initially labeled as questionable to return after the break, the Mavs quickly changed their minds to rule him out. Here is the work.