Overview
- Cleveland beat Detroit 116-109 in Game 3 to cut the series to 2-1 and avoid an 0-3 hole.
- With 2:25 left in a tie game, Max Strus jumped Cade Cunningham’s inbound pass and scored a go-ahead layup for a 106-104 lead.
- James Harden followed with seven points in the final minutes to close out the win for the Cavaliers.
- Coach Kenny Atkinson called Strus’ theft “the winning play of the game” and praised him as a “maniac competitor” who swung the momentum.
- Though he logged seven points and five rebounds, teammates highlighted his deflections, high hands, and hustle, and his return from a fractured foot has added grit to Cleveland’s playoff identity.