Haynes: Dereck Lively II out for Mavericks vs. Wolves in Game 4 with Neck Injury

The Dallas Mavericks reportedly will not have big man Dereck Lively II available when they attempt to sweep the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals.

Chris Haynes of TNT Sports reported Monday that Lively will not play in Game 4 on Tuesday.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski previously reported that Lively's status for Game 4 was "unclear" even after tests on his neck were deemed okay. ESPN's Tim MacMahon noted Lively underwent a scan on his sprained neck he suffered during Sunday's Game 3 and was not in the NBA's concussion protocol.

Lively suffered the injury during the second quarter when Karl-Anthony Towns' knee struck him in the back of the head while going for an offensive rebound. The Duke product remained down for some time and was helped off the court and taken to the locker room in the aftermath.

He didn't return and ended up playing just nine minutes with six points, three rebounds and two assists.

Dallas still emerged with a 116-107 victory and relied more on Daniel Gafford with Lively sidelined.

Both big men have been important parts of the Mavericks' playoff run thanks in large part to their ability to battle on the boards and finish as rim-runners when defenses collapse on Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving. Dončić and Irving have consistently found them both with lob passes in key moments.

Lively is a perfect 13-of-13 from the field in three games against the Timberwolves and also had 20 combined rebounds in the first two games. While the 3-0 lead in this series should give the Mavericks enough of a cushion if they don't rush him back, they will likely need him healthy if they are going to win the championship.

A potential NBA finals matchup with the Boston Celtics would mean dealing with a frontcourt of Al Horford and Kristaps Porziņģis, assuming the latter is healthy.

With Lively reportedly out for Tuesday's game, look for Dallas to give heavy minutes to Gafford and possibly use some small-ball lineups with P.J. Washington, Derrick Jones Jr. and Josh Green.