CLEVELAND ― The Cavaliers faced one of the greatest players to ever don their uniform Tuesday night as Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks invaded Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
But for a stretch late in the fourth quarter, Cavs small forward Max Strus was the greatest in the clutch.
Strus capped a wild finish by making a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from beyond half court to lift the Cavs to a dramatic 121-119 victory.
To say Strus was on fire in crunch time would be an understatement. He went 5-of-5 shooting from 3-point range in the final 3:42 and finished with 21 points.
Irving had a great game, too. He hadn't played against the Cavs since Dec. 26, 2022, when the eight-time NBA All-Star guard returned to Cleveland as a member of the Brooklyn Nets . The No. 1 overall draft pick of the Cavs in 2011, Irving scored 32 points in the Nets' 125-117 victory .
Less than two months later, the Nets traded Irving to the Mavericks, his fourth NBA team. Irving's other landing spot was the Boston Celtics , who acquired him in 2017 after he had requested a trade from the Cavs.
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Irving grew weary of playing second fiddle to LeBron James in Cleveland. Although Irving's abrupt departure didn't leave most Cavs fans with warm, fuzzy feelings about him, his exit can't erase the legendary 3-pointer he made in crunch time of Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals.
Irving's clutch shot played a huge role in the Cavs defeating the Golden State Warriors 93-89 to capture their only championship. The triumph, of course, ended a nearly 52-year title drought among Cleveland's major professional sports teams.
The last time the Cavs (38-19) faced the Mavericks (33-25), Cleveland prevailed 113-110 on Dec. 27 in Dallas. Irving didn't play because of a heel injury.
Aside from the Irving storyline, the Mavs provided the Cavs with a good measuring-stick game, especially because of the presence of Irving and five-time All-Star guard Luka Doncic . The Cavs are 24-2 this season against opponents under .500 and now 14-17 versus teams above .500.
All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs with 31 points.
Doncic finished with a game-high 45 points, and Irving posted 30 points.
Tipoff occurred shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday. Here are updates from throughout the game.
Below is some more information about the fourth quarter.
With 9.2 seconds left to play, Mavericks after guard/forward Josh Green pulled down Cavs point guard Darius Garland and grabbed the ball. The officials didn't call a foul. The Cavs wanted one, but they called timeout and kept possession.
Then on Cavs forward Evan Mobley 's ensuing inbounds pass, Cleveland fans thought Mavericks forward Derrick Jones Jr. touched the ball last before it went out of bounds as Strus also went for it. On a replay, the ball appeared to deflect off a leg of Garland before going out with 8.3 seconds left.
Either way, the Mavericks took possession. Forward P.J. Washington Jr. then made a layup with 2.6 seconds left to give the Mavs a one-point lead before Strus delivered his unforgettable game-winning shot from 59 feet.
The game featured 25 lead changes, and its back-and-forth nature intensified in the final minutes.
A possession after committing a turnover the Mavericks converted into two points, Mitchell made a 3-pointer with 29.8 seconds left to give the Cavs a 118-115 lead.
Then Irving made a floater to make the score 118-117 in favor of the Cavs with 23.8 seconds left.
The Cavs were behind 110-100 until Strus caught fire. From the 3:42 mark to 2:35 left, Strus made four consecutive 3-pointers. The last one cut the Mavericks' lead to 113-112.
The shooting display was akin to how Doncic finished the first half.
After this sequence, the Mavericks led the Cavs 105-98.
Washington made a layup and drew a foul from Mobley. Washington missed the ensuing free throw, but guard Tim Hardaway Jr. grabbed an offensive rebound and made a shot jump shot.
On the next Dallas possession, Doncic made a 3-pointer with 6:12 left.
Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff called timeout with 8:55 left in the fourth quarter.
The stoppage happened after Mitchell was called for an offensive foul while setting a screen on Hardaway. The Cleveland crowd expressed its displeasure with the call.
Then the Mavericks cut the Cavs' lead to 91-90 when center Dereck Lively II made an alley-oop dunk on an assist from Irving with 8:55 remaining.
Below is some information about the third quarter.
There were 19 lead changes through the first three quarters.
Headed into the fourth quarter, the Cavs led 83-82. They had led by as many as 15 points in the second quarter.
A floater by sixth man Caris LeVert gave the Cavs the one-point edge with 38 seconds left in the third quarter.
Doncic and Irving scored 35 and 20 points, respectively, in the first three quarters.
Mitchell led the Cavs with 20 points entering the fourth quarter.
Below is some information about the second quarter.
After Strus blocked a Doncic layup attempt with 3:19 remaining in the first half, Doncic caught fire.
Doncic made all four of his 3-point attempts and both of his foul shots in the final 2:57 of the second quarter. He scored 14 of the Mavericks' final 15 points of the first half to cut the Cavs' lead to 60-56 at halftime.
Doncic had 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 4 of 6 on 3-pointers, at halftime. Mitchell had a team-high 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting through the first two quarters.
The Cavs went ahead 56-41 with a highlight-worthy sequence at both ends of the foor.
First, Strus blocked a Doncic layup (as mentioned earlier).
Then Mitchell made a 3-pointer on an assist from Strus with 3:10 left.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd called timeout, and the Cleveland crowd went wild. Unfortunately for the Cavs faithful, Doncic's shooting became as hot as a habanero after the timeout.
The Mavericks called timeout with 7:05 left in the second quarter.
Mitchell had just made a 3-pointer to give the Cavs a 41-31 advantage, their largest lead of the game to that point.
After the timeout, Mitchell hit another 3-pointer, and the Cavs went ahead 44-31 with 6:38 left in the second quarter.
Below is some information about the first quarter.
Cavs reserve forward Georges Niang made a wide-open 3-pointer on assist from LeVert to tie the score 20-20 with 1:45 remaining in the first quarter.
However, the Mavericks led 24-23 at the end of the opening quarter after center Daniel Gafford made a layup on an assist from Doncic with 28 seconds remaining.
Doncic led all players with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field at the end of one quarter.
Have you ever heard time heals all wounds?
During pregame player introductions, Irving received loud applause from Cavs fans. From the area of the arena where media work during games, hardly any booing could be detected. You can listen for yourself in the video tweeted below.
The lovefest continued roughly midway through the first quarter.
With 6:36 left in the opening quarter, the Cavs called their first timeout of the game after Irving made a 3-pointer from the left baseline on an assist from Doncic.
The Cavs then displayed a welcome back message in honor of Irving on their video boards. The crowd loudly cheered, and Irving expressed gratitude by making a heart shape with his hands. The moment can been seen in the video tweeted below.
Below is some pregame information.
The Cavs ruled out one player due to injury: backup point guard Ty Jerome (ankle).
The Mavericks ruled out guard Dante Exum (knee) and listed Doncic (broken nose), Green (elbow), forward/center Maxi Kleber (nasal fracture) and Lively (nasal fracture) as available to play.
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The Cavs are now 45-40 in their all-time series with the Mavericks. The Cavs have prevailed in the last four meetings.
Cleveland's home record versus Dallas is 25-18.
The game was televised locally on Bally Sports Ohio and broadcast on the radio via WTAM (1100-AM), WMMS (100.7-FM) and WNZN (89.1-FM).
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Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavs beats Mavericks on half-court game-winning shot from Max Strus
