Strus makes ‘anything’ possible for Cavaliers
CLEVELAND — Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving said he had never lost on a half-court shot. Until Tuesday, that is.
In fact, very few NBA players have lost on a shot like Max Strus’ gamewinner for the Cleveland Cavaliers. According to ESPN Stats and Info, the starting small forward’s 59-foot shot is the second-longest buzzer-beater in the league during the 3-point era, which began with the 1979-80 season.
“He’s a big-game player,” Iriving said. “I think that’s why Cleveland signed him. He’s a good spacer, he’s high IQ and he’s played a lot of highlevel games, so you’ve got to give him credit for that. But I could have gone without him making that.”
The Cavs overcame the 75 points Irving and Luka Doncic combined to score thanks to Strus’ highlight-reel shot as time expired in a wild 121-119 victory.
“When you have a guy like Strus, anything is possible,” said Cavs center Jarrett Allen.
The half-court shot is only part of the minor miracle Strus performed.
After the Cavs fell behind 110-100 when Irving made a layup with 3:57 left, Strus caught fire. From 3:42 to 2:35 left, he made four consecutive 3pointers. The Cavs ended the game on a 21-9 run, with Strus hitting five from behind the arc and All-star guard Donovan Mitchell making two more. As a team, the Cavs finished 20-of-40 on 3pointers.
“[Strus] never quitting is his leadership style,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “And when he came in and sparked the way he did, and kept going, kept going, everybody else followed suit.” Strus said he thought the half-court shot would be good when he released it. He joked someone had to step up and take the shot with Mitchell on the sideline at the time.
“You dream of a shot like that,” Mitchell said. “So for him to get that after what he did for us the whole fourth quarter, man, it’s only fitting. He’s always locked in and focused. And for him to come out there and win us that game, it’s huge.”
Mitchell scored a team-high 31 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the field (7of-11 3-pointers). Strus added 21 points on 7-of-12 from the floor (7-of-10 on 3s). The Cavs (38-19) earned a 2-0 regularseason sweep of the Mavericks (33-25).
“It was fun,” Strus said.
Irving must ‘deal with’ decision to ask out of Cleveland
Irving requested the Cavs trade him in 2017. He wanted to escape Lebron James’ shadow, leading Cleveland to deal him to the Boston Celtics.
“It wasn’t anything that I had against the fans or organization,” Irving said. “It just was my time to figure out myself, and I look back on that, and I have to deal with that decision that I made to ask for a trade. But ... what I like to focus on is just what we accomplished. It propelled me into the next phase of my career, and I’ve only gotten better because of my time here.” Now at 31 years old, Irving said he’s grateful for “Cleveland really loving me through my mistakes.”
Irving received applause from the home crowd during pregame player introductions and cheers when the Cavs displayed a welcome back message on their video boards during a timeout with 6:36 left in the first quarter. Irving responded to the latter by making a heart shape with his hands.