Cavaliers stun Mavericks with 59-foot buzzer-beater from Strus in wild finish

The Cleveland Cavaliers stunned the Dallas Mavericks as Max Strus produced a miraculous three-point buzzer-beater from 59 feet to secure a wild 121-119 victory on Tuesday night.

The Mavericks looked set to enjoy a key win on the road when P.J. Washington gave them the lead with just 2.9 seconds remaining, and the Cavaliers had no more timeouts left.

Strus inbounded the ball to team-mate Evan Mosley and received it back before launching a three-point shot beyond mid-court at the buzzer, which went in and sparked wild celebrations at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

“I don’t know. Donovan [Mitchell] was out of the game, so somebody else had to step up,” Strus said in his post-match interview on the court. “I got lucky.”

He added: “The last five felt pretty good. I felt a rhythm and it’s fun when you do that. Every time I shot it, I felt like it was going in, and it was. Same with the last one.”

It was a painful defeat for the Mavericks who saw Luka Doncic put up 45 points and 14 assists while Kyrie Irving contributed with another 30 points.

“Incredible shot. That was just an incredible shot,” Doncic said. “It was my fault, I should have pressed forward [on Strus]. I thought we played a good game, but that was rough, obviously.”

Irving added: “That two-minute span was intense for us. This is the first time I’ve lost on a half-court shot.

“You don’t flush it out of your system, you feel it. This one has got to sting a little bit.”

Elsewhere, the Golden State Warriors continued their recent run of good form with a 123-112 victory over the Washington Wizards.

Warriors point guard Chris Paul returned after missing 21 games with a broken hand and contributed with nine points and six assists in 22 minutes.

Klay Thompson impressed off the bench once again and scored a team-high 27 points with Jonathan Kuminga adding 21 points.

“You’ve got two Hall of Famers in the backcourt coming off the bench,” Thompson said. “That’s such a rare feat, so we take pride in that.”

Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics claimed a 117-99 win over the Philadelphia 76ers and the Miami Heat secured a 106-96 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Anthony Edwards came out on top in his battle with Victor Wembanyama as the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the San Antonio Spurs 114-105.

The Detroit Pistons sealed only their ninth win of the season against the Chicago Bulls while Damian Lillard scored a game-high 23 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks past the Charlotte Hornets.

NBA results on Tuesday February 27

Dallas Mavericks 119-121 Cleveland Cavaliers Brooklyn Nets 81-108 Orlando MagicGolden State Warriors 123-112 Washington WizardsUtah Jazz 97-124 Atlanta HawksPhiladelphia 76ers 99-117 Boston Celtics New Orleans Pelicans 115-92 New York KnicksSan Antonio Spurs 105-114 Minnesota Timberwolves Detroit Pistons 105-95 Chicago Bulls Charlotte Hornets 85-123 Milwaukee Bucks Houston Rockets 95-112 Oklahoma City ThunderMiami Heat 106-96 Portland Trail BlazersTNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.