Mavs big man suffers neck sprain after knee to head

Lively was injured during the second quarter when he fell backward in the lane and was inadvertently kneed in the head by Timberwolves forward Karl-Anthony Towns.

Lively’s head snapped forward upon contact. He was down on the court for several minutes before appearing dazed as he was helped to the locker room, according to the Associated Press. While many people suspected Lively might have suffered a concussion, the team did not immediately reveal any testing results.

Lively has been a major factor in the postseason. He made all three of his field goal attempts, adding three rebounds in Game 3 before the injury. Lively has knocked down all 13 of his field-goal attempts in the series. He had a 14-point, nine-rebound outing in Game 2.

Lively posted double-doubles in the last two games of the conference semifinals against the Thunder. Overall, he was averaging 8.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 blocks in 22.4 minutes during 14 postseason games entering Sunday’s contest.

With Dallas taking a 3-0 lead in the series, the Mavs can afford to be cautious with Lively even if he doesn’t enter concussion protocol.

If he needs to miss any games, the Mavs will have to rely on Daniel Gafford, Dwight Powell and smaller lineups to fill the void.