Watch: Mavericks rookie Dereck Lively can’t miss in Game 3

Lively still hasn’t missed through 13 quarters, shooting 3-for-3 in the first quarter of Game 3 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He’s now 13-for-13 in the series, and he’s made all three of his free throws.

That’s because he keeps getting open dunks. When the 7-foot-1 Lively gets a mismatch, like against the 6-foot-4 Anthony Edwards, he can overwhelm him. But most of his opportunities come when the Timberwolves pay too much attention to Luka Doncic, who will find Lively for alley-oops.

Lively isn’t doing anything complicated, but he’s avoiding mistakes. Minnesota has tried to force the ball out of Doncic’s hands, often forcing him to give it to Lively as an escape valve. But so far, Lively has committed only a single turnover and dished seven assists.

Dallas is countering Minnesota’s expensive All-Star big men with a rotation of young big men. Daniel Gafford is only 25, Lively turned 20 in February and 32-year-old Dwight Powell has only played when Gafford is in foul trouble, which happened Sunday.

But Lively has been solid enough that Dallas leads 60-52 at halftime, looking to take a 3-0 series lead. It turns out that he’s a perfect backup center.