In the span of just one week, the Cleveland Cavaliers have had two of their wildest wins in franchise history.
Back on February 27, Cavaliers swingman Max Strus hit the second-longest game-winning buzzer-beater in the NBA’s three-point era to seal a 10-point fourth-quarter comeback in a win over the Dallas Mavericks.
Seven days later, Cleveland forward Dean Wade made a game-winning putback dunk with 19.1 seconds remaining to complete the team’s largest fourth-quarter comeback in franchise history in a win over the Boston Celtics.
One thing in common in both games? A Cavalier taking over the game in the fourth quarter.
According to StatMuse, the Cavaliers duo are the only two NBA players to make at least five threes on 100% shooting in a fourth quarter this season.
In the Wine and Gold’s victory over Dallas, Strus scored 15 points in the final period, shooting a perfect 5-for-5 (all from three-point range) in the game’s final 3:42.
Likewise, in Cleveland’s triumph over Boston, Wade scored 20 of his career-high 23 points in the fourth quarter, shooting a perfect 7-for-7 from the field and 5-for-5 from beyond the arc in the game’s final 8:52.
The two have excelled from three-point range so far this season.
Strus is averaging 2.4 three-pointers per game on a 34.0% mark from deep, en route to career-best averages in points (12.2), rebounds (4.7), assists (3.8), steals (0.9), and blocks (0.5) per contest. Wade is averaging a career-best 1.5 three-pointers per game, and his 40.2% clip from three-point range is also a career-best (minimum 44 games played).
But most importantly for the Cavaliers over the past week, the pair of sharpshooters stepped up when the team needed them most.
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