Cavs stun Mavs with 59-foot buzzer-beater, 121-119

CLEVELAND – The way things were going down the stretch Tuesday night, the analysis was leaning heavily toward in favor of the Dallas Mavericks winning against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

But unfortunately the analysis did not work in favor of the Mavs.

Despite trailing by one point with just 2.6 seconds left and no timeouts, the Cavs were able to use Max Strus’ improbable 59-foot wildcat at the buzzer to stun the Mavs, 121-119, in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The heartbreaking loss dropped the Mavs to 0-2 on this four-game road trip and 33-25 overall, while the Cavs increased their record to 38-19.

Strus’ long drive came just after the Mavs took a 119-118 lead on a PJ Washington basket off an assist from Luka Dončić with just 2.6 seconds remaining. The Cavs had no timeouts left, then they fed the ball to Strus, who simply drained the huge game-winner as time expired.

“We felt like we should have won that game, and losing like that definitely hurts,” said Washington, who scored 11 points. “I feel like they fouled me (on the last basket) and then the ball went in and we should have put pressure on them early because they didn’t have any timeouts either.

“It was obviously a stroke of luck. “You hate to lose like that, but it is what it is.”

Strus’ 3-pointer was the second-longest of its kind at the buzzer during the NBA’s three-point era, which began in 1979-80. The longest winning 3-pointer at the buzzer was made by New Orleans’ Devonte Graham, who hit a 61-footer on Dec. 15, 2021, to defeat Oklahoma City at the buzzer.

“Max Strus hurt us a lot in the fourth quarter, but it was an unbelievable shot,” said Dončić, who finished with 45 points, nine rebounds, 14 assists and three steals. “A hard way to lose.”

It was an extremely tough way for the Mavs to lose considering they led, 110-100, with 3:58 left. However, Strus hit five 3-pointers down the stretch as the Mavs simply couldn’t find a way to stop him.

Strus finished the game with 21 points and made 7 of 10 three-pointers. He scored 15 of his points in the fourth quarter, when he played just five minutes.

“He was hot,” said Mavs coach Jason Kidd, whose team will play in Toronto on Wednesday. “Every time someone is hot and they get shot, you think maybe they have a chance (to get in).

“You could see his reaction when he let it go (on the last shot). He thought he was doing it, so when he passed there is nothing you can do.”

On his last day at age 24, Dončić was spectacular, scoring 27 points in the first half when the Mavs trailed 60-56. Doncic ended up making 17 of 29 shots, including 6 of 11 from beyond the three-point arc.

“We know when we are playing. . . As an Eastern Conference team, the fans only get to see us once, so you definitely want to give them a show and I think Luka did that tonight,” Mavs guard Kyrie Irving said. “I wish we could have gotten a win on his night. before his (25^th) birthday, but tomorrow we have another chance to play a better game than tonight.”

Irving also put on a show with 30 points and six rebounds and was 12 of 24 from the field and 5 of 8 from downtown against the team he helped win the NBA title in 2016. But Irving was also involved in a play crucial that I wish I could recover.

On the key play in question, Irving crossed the line after receiving Tim Hardaway Jr.’s inbound pass just after Strus hit a 3-pointer. Strus took advantage of that Dallas turnover and hit another three-pointer to put Cleveland within 110-106 of the Mavs.

“I was trying to make eye contact with Timmy just to let him know I was going to serve the ball just to run a few more seconds on the clock, give the ball to the referee, let it bounce a little bit and make sure we had everything on terms.” of numbers to get a quality offensive possession,” Irving said. “But the referee said, ‘I know what you meant to do, but Timmy was already off the field.’ So, he was trying to make eye contact, ‘Wait, wait, wait, I’m going to take it out of bounds and then throw it to the referee,’ but it didn’t work out that way.

“But that was just a remnant of another turnover I had before that play. That two-minute period was intense for us: back-and-forth possessions. Basically, I have to take better care of the ball and be prepared down the stretch. That is the most important”.

Irving made amends on the next possession by hitting a 3-pointer to give Dallas a 113-106 lead with 3:16 left. However, Strus hit two more 3-pointers as Cleveland pulled within 113-112 of the Mavs at the 2:35 mark.

Donovan Mitchell, who finished with 31 points, seven rebounds and six assists, gave the Cavs a 115-113 lead with a three-pointer.

The two teams went back and forth, as Mitchell hit an improbable 3-pointer to give Cleveland a 118-115 lead with 29.8 seconds left. A floater in Irving’s lane helped the Mavs get within 118-117 of the Cavs with 23.8 seconds left.

The Cavs then fumbled with 8.3 seconds left, opening the door for the Mavs to take the lead, which they did on Washington’s crucial pass under the basket. But the Cavs had the last shot of the game – and the last basket – when Strus lofted the ball from the opposite side of halfcourt and got his prayer answered.

“Give credit to Cleveland,” Kidd said. “They continued playing. But I think our group did a great job responding, even though the shot they made beyond half court was the game winner. In order to execute down the stretch and be able to score both times when we had to, and get stops twice, we made them call a timeout and then we got the turnover and then we executed to keep going.

“Now the next thing we have to understand is that they didn’t have timeouts. “So, we have to push up and make them retreat and not let them advance.”

Dončić and Irving were fantastic in a losing effort.

“If you look at what Luka is doing right now, he can score on anyone in the league, as you can see,” Kidd said.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re big or small, he’s going to put you in the iso position to dance. And if you go to dance with him, he will get the best grade.

“I think he did a great job of being able to score, but also finding his teammates when he needed to. And I thought he played a great game and put us in a position to win.”

Still, with Cleveland shooting 53 percent from the field and making 20 of 40 shots from behind the three-point line, it was logical that the Cavs would win this game with a nearly impossible shot at the buzzer behind the half. court while defying analytics.

X: @DwainPrice