The Dallas Mavericks were on a roll for the first three quarters of their Wednesday night contest against the Los Angeles Lakers. However, that didn't come without its fair share of heart-in-your-mouth moments, with the Mavs' prized rookie Dereck Lively II exiting the game prematurely after suffering a concerning back injury.

With around seven minutes to go in the third quarter, Luka Doncic threw a lob towards the vicinity of Lively. The lob was a bit too high for Lively, but Lively did his best to try and hammer down the alley-oop jam anyway. Lively, however, did not catch the ball cleanly, and to make matters worse, his grip towards the rim failed him. He then fell to the ground in a concerning manner, and he crumpled on the ground in pain even though he was able to brace himself a bit as he took a hard spill towards the hardwood.

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The Mavs had to take a timeout once they regained possession just to get Dereck Lively II off the court. On his way off the hardwood, Lively had to be helped by his teammates, as he struggled to put weight on his legs. He was clearly in no condition to return to the game against the Lakers, with the team announcing that he'll be out for the rest of the contest shortly thereafter.

Lively's status for future games remains uncertain. However, given how much of an impact he suffered on his fall to the ground, it seems likely that the Mavs will be without their starting center for at least a few games. Hopefully this injury doesn't end up knocking him out of action for weeks.

At the very least, the Mavs can take comfort in the fact that they were able to take home the win against the Lakers despite missing Dereck Lively II's presence on the interior on both ends of the floor. The Mavs were unable to buy a bucket in the fourth quarter, with LeBron James and company storming back from a 20-point deficit, but in the end, it was Kyrie Irving who sealed the deal for the Mavs with a go-ahead triple and game-sealing free throws.