Cage gods answer Strus’ prayer

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MAX Strus sank a 3-pointer from well beyond midcourt as time expired to lift the host Cleveland Cavaliers to a 121-119 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila).

Strus matched Donovan Mitchell by making seven 3-pointers on the evening. Strus, in fact, sank four in a 67-second sequence late in the fourth quarter before answering P.J. Washington’s go-ahead layup with 2.6 seconds left with his improbable shot.

Mitchell collected 31 points, seven rebounds and six assists to offset seven turnovers. Strus finished with 21 points and Jarrett Allen recorded 19 points and nine rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have won two in a row overall and completed a season-series sweep of the Mavericks. Cleveland recorded a 113-110 victory in Dallas on Dec. 27.

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Strus’ heroics spoiled a banner night by Dallas’ Luka Doncic, who recorded 45 points, 14 assists, nine rebounds and three steals.

In other games, it was the Pistons 105, Bulls 95; Warriors 123, Wizards 112; Magic 108, Nets 81; Hawks 124, Jazz 97; Celtics 117, Sixers 99; Pelicans 115, Knicks 92; Wolves 114, Spurs 105; Bucks 123, Hornets 85; Thunder 112, Rockets 95; and Heat 106, Blazers 96.

Pistons 105, Bulls 95

Cade Cunningham scored 26 points and Simone Fontecchio had 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter to boost visiting Detroit to a win against Chicago.

Detroit snapped a six-game losing streak behind a 42-6 edge in points from 3-point shots. The Pistons finished 14-for-37 (37.8 percent) from deep compared to a season-worst 2-for-

29 (6.9 percent) showing for the Bulls, who have lost three of four.
Nikola Vucevic (25 points, 10 rebounds) and Andre Drummond (20 points, 11 rebounds) both had double-doubles for Chicago, and DeMar DeRozan added 25 points.

Warriors 123, Wizards 112

Klay Thompson outscored Jordan Poole in a bench duel of former teammates, Chris Paul made a triumphant return from a 21-game absence and Golden State beat host Washington.

On a night when Andrew Wiggins wasn’t available for personal reasons and Stephen Curry made just 4 of 16 3-pointers, the Warriors rode Thompson’s hot hand to a ninth win in 11 games. Thompson buried 6 of 11 triples en route to a team-high 25 points in 27 minutes.

Poole, meanwhile, went just 2-for-8 from deep and 5-for-17 overall en route to 12 points against the team that traded him as part of a package for Paul this past offseason. Paul went for nine points, four rebounds, six assists and four steals. — Field Level Media

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