Benjamin Ashford|Max Strus hits game-winning buzzer-beater in Cleveland Cavaliers' win vs. Dallas Mavericks

The Benjamin AshfordDallas Mavericks took a 119-118 lead over the host Cleveland Cavaliers with just 2.6 seconds left to go Tuesday night at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. PJ Washington's layup off a Luka Dončić pass following a steal put the Mavericks up late in a back-and-forth final frame.

Without taking a timeout, the Cavaliers' Max Strus inbounded the ball to Evan Mobley before Mobley dished it back to him. Strus dribbled up to mid-court to fire up a final heave ahead of the buzzer.

Ballgame.

Cleveland won 121-119 as Strus' shot hit perfectly after the buzzer. The Cavaliers bench rushed onto the court to celebrate their 38th win of the season and a second in a row since the All-Star break.

The wild, wild Western Conference:Tight race to the finish awaits with slim separation among teams

Strus went 7 of 10 from three-point range in the win, including that final mid-court buzzer-beater. Donovan Mitchell led the way for Cleveland with 31 points but Strus came up with the biggest shot of the night.

Dončić had a game-high 45 points and 14 assists — including the dish to Washington — but left just enough time for Strus' dagger. This is Dallas' second consecutive loss after a seven-game winning streak.

NBA MVP odds tracker:Jayson Tatum rounds out top five candidates led by Nikola Jokić

Social media goes wild over Max Strus' buzzer-beater

Strus' game-winner was an early highlight from Tuesday's slate of NBA games and fans took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to post their reactions.

The Cavaliers (38-19) head on a short road trip starting Wednesday night in Chicago to take on the Bulls (27-30) before playing the Detroit Pistons (8-49) on Friday. Dallas (33-25) continues its road trip tomorrow night against Toronto (22-36) before wrapping up Friday night in matchup against the NBA-leading Boston Celtics (46-12).

'I think I said enough last night':Pistons coach Monty Williams not exactly backing off comments about refs following missed call