CLEVELAND — Max Strus’ 59-foot shot that left his hands just before the buzzer sounded splashed through the hoop and lifted his Cavaliers to a 121-119 thrilling win over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.
Strus, who scored 15 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter — all on 3s — had no choice but to heave one from behind the half court line after the Mavericks took a 1-point lead with 2.6 seconds left. After his improbable shot went in, Strus was tackled to the court by his overjoyed teammates, who had, in the last 30 seconds of game time, thought they’d both won and lost a number of times.
MAX STRUS FROM HALF-COURT FOR THE WIN 🤯
What a finish in Cleveland.
🎥 @NBATVpic.twitter.com/NU9jpS1QTF
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) February 28, 2024
Cleveland trailed by 10 with less than four minutes left, before three consecutive 3s by Strus cut the deficit to 1. The Mavericks, trailing by 1 with 10 seconds left, forced Evan Mobley into a turnover and went ahead on a P.J. Washington layup.
Luka Dončić scored 45 points for Dallas and Kyrie Irving added 30 points. Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs with 31 points.
This story will be updated.
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(Photo: Jason Miller / Getty Images)
