Strus pulls off monster buzzer-beater as Cavs sink Mavs

LOS ANGELES – Max Strus drained an astonishing 58-foot buzzer-beater as the Cleveland Cavaliers conjured a stunning late fightback to sink the Dallas Mavericks, 121-119, on Tuesday (Wednesday Manila time).

In a remarkable finale in Cleveland, Strus unleashed a mammoth heave from inside his own half to snatch victory from Dallas, who had grabbed a 119-118 lead with just over two seconds remaining in the game.

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Strus's miraculous effort was the final act of a thrilling fourth quarter rally by Cleveland, who trailed by 10 with under four minutes left after a superb 45-point performance from Mavs ace Luka Doncic.

Strus was the catalyst for the Cavs turnaround, reeling off four straight 3-pointers to allow Cleveland to get within one at 113-112 with 2:35 remaining.

Back-to-back threes from Donovan Mitchell put Cleveland 118-115 up, but Dallas hit back to regain a one-point lead after a Kyrie Irving jump shot and a P.J. Washington layup.

That set the stage for Strus to unfurl his game-winning three-quarter-court effort to spark pandemonium amongst the home crowd in Cleveland.

"That was awesome," Strus said afterwards. "Great win, we needed it. We've been struggling so it's good to get one like that.

"We fought, and fought, and fought... we want to win every game and we want to keep winning."

Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff praised Strus's role in sparking the late rally when it looked as if the game had slipped away.

"The way that he plays the game with a determination, a never-give-in mentality and attitude — that inspires his teammates every single day," Bickerstaff said.

"He's just relentless and that elevates his teammates. Everybody leads in their own way on our team; he leads and people follow."

Mitchell led the Cleveland scoring with 31 points, with Strus finishing with 21. Jarrett Allen added 19 as the Cavaliers secured a win which leaves them second in the Eastern Conference with a 38-19 record.

Doncic, meanwhile, topped Dallas's scorers with 45 points, adding 14 assists, nine rebounds and three steals. Irving finished with 30 points as Dallas dropped to 33-25,