Dončić knew Lively ‘was going to be great’

Mavericks point guard Luka Dončić said he had no doubt that rookie center Dereck Lively II would be a smashing success in the NBA. But Lively has even exceeded Dončić’s expectation this early in the season.

“Obviously, I knew he was going to be great,” Dončić said. “But the way he’s performed since the first game has been amazing.

“I didn’t expect this impact of him. He’s been playing like he’s been in the league 10 years already.”

Lively missed four games with a left ankle sprain before returning Monday to score 20 points, convert eight of nine shots and grab 10 rebounds during a 128-114 victory over the Phoenix Suns. The Mavs were 1-3 when Lively was sidelined, and are 1-5 overall this season without him and 17-7 with him on the court.

On what he saw from his teammates while he was injured in a Dec. 16 game in Portland, Lively said: “Our spacing is going to give us open shots and our spacing is going to be able to make our team play better. And when we’re on defense we’ve got to lock down or be able to just be sound when it comes to our matchups and sound whenever it comes to our schemes.”

Those schemes will be put to the test again when the Mavs entertain the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at American Airlines Center.

Lively has had a penchant for getting into foul trouble this season. But he has worked diligently on improving that aspect of his game, and only picked up three fouls against the Suns.

He also finished that contest with the highest plus/minus of any player – a plus 18.

“I really just think my teammates and my coaches trust me to make decisions,” Lively said. “Sometimes when I have four fouls and they leave me in, they know that I’ll make the right defensive reads and the right reads on both ends of the floor. My team does better whenever I’m in the game.”

Lively certainly will get no argument from Dončić on that last comment.

“I’m really proud of this guy,” Dončić said. “He works on his game and he listens to me.”

*Mavs guard Luka Dončić is listed as questionable (left quad soreness), while guard Kyrie Irving (right heel contusion), guard Josh Green (right elbow sprain) and forward Maxi Kleber (right small toe dislocation) will not play tonight.

*The Cavs will be without All-Star guard Darius Garland (fractured jaw) and forward Evan Mobley (left knee), while All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell (illness) and forward Caris LeVert (knee) are questionable. Mitchell (27.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 5.5 apg), Garland (20.7 ppg, 5.9 apg) and Mobley (16 ppg, 10.5 rpg) are the Cavs’ top three scorers.

*This is the opener of a back-to-back for the Mavs, who will play in Minnesota on Thursday. The Mavs are 2-4 on the front end of a back-to-back this season.

*Cavs center Jarrett Allen became the first Cavs player in team history to collect 19 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists in a game without a turnover during Saturday’s 109-95 victory over the Chicago Bulls. He’s also the first NBA player with this stat line since New York’s since David Lee had 21 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists with no turnovers on March 3, 2010. Allen also ranks third in the league in field goal shooting at 67.6 percent.

*Mavs superstar point guard Luka Dončić became the talk of the NBA – again – after the poured  in a whopping 50 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out 15 assists, picked up four steals and blocked three shots during Monday’s 128-114 win over the Phoenix Suns. Dončić was 15-of-25 from the field – 8-of-16 from three-point range – and 12-of-12 from the free throw line.

*Cavs rookie guard Craig Porter Jr. had 19 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in the win over the Bulls. He is the very first undrafted Cavs rookie to put up these type of numbers in a game.  In the past three games, Porter has 25 assists.

*Mavs forward Derrick Jones Jr. is coming off a 23-point outing in Monday’s win in Phoenix in which he was 9-of-18 from the field, including 3-of-8 from downtown. Jones is averaging 10.4 ppg.

*Cavs guard Max Strus finished Saturday’s game against the Bulls with 26 point and seven assists. That’s the first time in his career that Strus has scored 25-plus points and distributed seven assists in a game.

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (17-13) at DALLAS MAVERICKS (18-12)

When: 7:30 p.m., Wednesday

Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas

TV: BSSW

Radio: 97.1 FM The Freak; 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish)

X: @DwainPrice