A tipped pass was just the beginning of a flurry between the Dallas Mavericks and Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.
The fun started with the Mavericks up 118-117 with 8.3 seconds left. Mavericks forward Maxi Kleber nearly lost the game with an errant pass to Luka Doncic, who still came down with the ball and drove to the basket for the game-winning attempt.
Understandably, most Cavaliers defenders fell on Doncic. That left Mavericks forward PJ Washington wide open under the basket for a go-ahead layup.
Unfortunately, the Mavericks had 2.6 seconds left on the clock, which was enough time for Cavaliers wing Max Struss to take the ball and hit a 59-foot buzzer-beater that blew the roof off Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
Cavaliers win, 121-119.
Another angle:
Not even the frenzy at work here from Struss. Here's how Cavaliers possessions played out over the final four minutes:
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Maximum stress 3-pointer
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Maximum stress 3-pointer
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Maximum stress 3-pointer
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Maximum stress 3-pointer
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Donovan Mitchell 3-pointer (stress rebound off)
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Darius Garland Miss
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Donovan Mitchell Miss
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Donovan Mitchell 3-pointer
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Evan Mobley turnover
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Maximum stress 3-pointer
The Cavaliers started that stretch down 110-100 and scored 21 points in four minutes, 15 of which came from Strus (and all of which came from 3-pointers).
Struss finished the game with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting (7-of-10 from deep), which was enough to offset Donczyk's 45 points, 14 assists, nine rebounds, three steals and one turnover. So far, this has been a solid season since Struss signed a four-year, $63 million sign-and-trade with Cleveland.
