A rousing third quarter effort from the Dallas Mavericks turned a potential blowout at the hands of the Orlando Magic into a dogfight. The Mavericks and Magic exchanged blows in the fourth quarter in a teeter-totter affair that ended in a 131-129 win for Dallas, but that exchange became literal deep in the final frame when Wendell Carter Jr. inadvertently hit Dereck Lively II in the face with a little over two minutes remaining in the game.

Immediately, Lively went down to the ground in pain, clearly reeling from the forearm he took from Carter. The Magic center was simply trying to contest the Mavericks big man's shot attempt, but in trying to knock the ball loose from his grasp, he ended up missing the ball and hitting Lively straight on the nose, causing him to bleed ā€” drawing a flagrant foul penalty one from the officials in the process.

Wendell Carter Jr. was immediately apologetic; his body language certainly gives the impression that he meant no harm for Dereck Lively II. But even as the Magic big man tried his best to apologize on the court, he also doubled down on social media, writing an apology on his official Twitter (X) account for the inadvertent harm he caused.

ā€œ@DereckLively My bad bro ! Hate seeing players hurt, especially when it was my fault,ā€ Carter wrote.

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In the end, Dereck Lively II may have taken a painful shot to the face, but it benefitted the Mavericks' efforts to seal the victory in crunch time. The rookie big man made two of his four free throws from the Wendell Carter Jr. incident, giving Dallas the lead for good after Tim Hardaway Jr. added two more points on the ensuing possession.

Physical contact is simply part of the NBA, and even though Carter did not intentionally swing at Lively's face, the flagrant foul was warranted. Nevertheless, the Magic big man has no track record of being a dirty player, and it looks like he intends to keep it that way even in the aftermath of being at the center of the play that essentially gave the Mavericks the victory.