Max Strus embracing maniac competitor role is a reason Cavs win Game 3
The Cavs love their 'maniac,' 'psycho' do-it-all G/F Max Strus for the grit he brings to the floor. In Game 3, that helped them win the game.
CLEVELAND ā The Detroit Pistons were right on the verge of burying the Cavaliers in this series. Already up 2-0 after taking both games in Detroit , the Pistons had rallied to come back and tie Game 3 with two and a half minutes to go, and they had possession of the ball. In that moment, Detroit had a potential 3-0 series lead ā a death sentence for the other side in the NBA ā right in their grasp.
And then Cavs guard/forward Max Strus , on the in-bounds play, simply took it from them. In a pretty literal sense, he stole it right from under the Pistons' noses and effectively snatched Game 3 out of the air . With Pistons star guard Cade Cunningham in-bounding the ball, and with a chance for the Pistons to take the lead, Strus timed the pass perfectly and just about took it right out of Cunningham's hands for a steal.
It was as clean of a legal pickpocket as one can ever see on a basketball court. Strus raced the other way and got a layup to fall, putting the Cavs up 106-104 with 2:25 to go. From there, James Harden scored seven crucial points in the final minutes, and the Cavs won 116-109 to not only make the series 2-1, but save their playoff lives in the process.
"We usually label one winning play ā that was the winning play of the game, no doubt about it," said Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson. "Got the crowd going, our mojo going. " Max Strus' playoff stats It was Strus' basketball-larceny that might have swung things in Cleveland's favor before it was too late.