CLEVELAND — Max Strus hit a 59-footer as time expired, his fifth 3-pointer in the final four minutes, to give the Cleveland Cavaliers a wild 121-119 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.
After the Mavericks took the lead on a PJ Washington dunk with 2.9 seconds left, the Cavaliers quickly got the ball to Evan Mobley, who passed back to Strus, who hit four 3-pointers in a 67-second span in the final stretch to keep Cleveland close.
Strus then took one dribble before launching his shot from well beyond midcourt, officially listed at 59 feet. While going through the net, Strus was tackled to the ground by his teammates as the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse crowd erupted.
“At the end of the day, we have a guy like Max Strus,” Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen said. “Everything is possible.”
According to ESPN Stats & Information research, Strus is the fourth player in the last 25 seasons to make five 3-pointers in the final four minutes of the game.
“He was the right guy,” Cleveland coach JB Bickerstaff said of Strus. “That's one of the things we're fortunate with this group, is that on any given night we have a guy who can step up and make big plays.”
The memorable shot was the second-longest shot in the 3-point era, according to Basketball Reference. Only Devonte' Graham has made it longer (61 feet) in that span in the New Orleans Pelicans' win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Dec. 15, 2021.
To tell the truth, Strus was not very impressed by his push. He hit an even longer winner in college, at Lewis University in Illinois.
“Yes, at my Division II school I made a three-quarter-court shot to win the game,” he said.
However, when asked further about how he achieved it, he remained modest.
“I don't know. Donovan [Mitchell] I was out of the game, so someone else had to step up,” Strus said, laughing, in his postgame on-court interview on Bally Sports. “I was lucky.”
Mitchell scored 31 points, Strus added 21 and Allen 19 for the Cavaliers, who improved to 12-3 since Jan. 26.
“I didn't feel like it was going to be that far. I had a feeling it was going to be close,” Mitchell said in describing the Strus winner. “Just seeing him go by, especially with what he did for us in the fourth… it had to be him. You dream of a shot like that.”
Mavericks guard Luka Doncic scored 45 points and 14 assists a day before his 25th birthday. Kyrie Irving added 30 for Dallas, which lost for just the second time in 10 games.
“Unbelievable shot. It was just an unbelievable shot,” Doncic said. “It was my fault, I should have moved on [on Strus]. “I thought we played a good game, but obviously it was difficult.”
Doncic added nine rebounds, coming one shy of his 11th triple-double.
With Doncic hitting a 3-pointer, Dallas scored 10 straight points to take a 108-98 lead with 4:38 left.
“We should have closed that game better,” Washington said. “We feel like we should have won that game. Losing like that, it definitely hurts.”
Irving agreed.
“That two-minute period was intense for us,” he said. “This is the first time I lost on a half-court shot. You don't get it out of your system, you feel it. This one has to hurt a little.”
The Mavericks were still up by double digits when Strus got hot, hitting four 3-pointers in just over a minute to pull the Cavs within 113-112.
“Max never gives up,” Bickerstaff said. “He just kept making play after play after play on both ends.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
