Cavs Insider

Max Strus’ Wild Game-Winner Seals Fourth-Quarter Surge In Cavs’ Win

The Cleveland swingman scored all 15 of his fourth-quarter points in the final 3:42 of the Cavaliers' 121-119 win over Dallas.

Logan Potosky

Max Strus’ Wild Game-Winner Seals Fourth-Quarter Surge In Cavs’ Win
Max Strus’ Wild Game-Winner Seals Fourth-Quarter Surge In Cavs’ Win /
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In their first meeting against the Dallas Mavericks on December 27, the Cleveland Cavaliers completed a 20-point comeback to win the game.

On Tuesday night, the Wine and Gold needed some more late-game magic to sweep their season series against Dallas.

They got it from Max Strus.

The 27-year-old swingman scored 15 of his 21 points in the final 3:42 of the game, as the Cavaliers earned a thrilling 121-119 victory.

But Strus’ final three points were some of the wildest in Cleveland franchise history.

Trailing by one point with no timeouts and 2.6 seconds remaining, Strus performed a give-and-go with Evan Mobley on a full-court inbound pass. After receiving the ball from Mobley, he then drained a 59-foot shot to win the game.

According to Bally Sports Cleveland, Strus’ game-winning shot is the second-longest in an NBA game (regular-season or playoffs) in the three-point era, which began in the 1979-80 season.

Trailing 110-100 with 3:57 remaining, the Cavaliers’ offense caught fire in large part due to Strus. During a 15-3 run over the next 3:12, he drained four consecutive three-point attempts in a 67-second span.

Feb 27, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus (1) makes a last-second, game-winning three-point basket beside Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) in the fourth quarter against at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse / © David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

With his eventual game-winner, Strus finished 5-for-5 from deep in the final quarter. Per Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor, according to ESPN Stats & Information, he is the fourth player in the past 25 seasons to make at least five three-pointers within the final four minutes of a game.

Strus explained what happened during the final play with some humor in an on-court postgame interview.

“I don’t know. [Donovan Mitchell] was out of the game, so somebody else had to step up. I got lucky [Mitchell] was out, because he would’ve shot that one.”

Up next, the Cavaliers will face the Chicago Bulls on the road tomorrow night at 8 p.m.

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Logan Potosky
LOGAN POTOSKY

Logan Potosky is an aspiring play-by-play sports broadcaster who, to date, has called approximately 350+ hours of professional, college, and high school sporting events. He is currently the Play-by-Play Broadcaster for the Lake County Captains, the High-A Affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. He graduated from John Carroll University in May of 2023 with a degree in Communication, with a concentration in Digital Media, and a minor in Entrepreneurship.

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