WATCH: Cavaliers Swingman Throws Down Jaw-Dropping Dunk Vs. Pistons

Cleveland's Max Strus had a powerful jam over Detroit center Jalen Duren during the first half of Wednesday night's contest.
Jan 25, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus (1) dribbles the ball in the first quarter against the Houston Rockets at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
Jan 25, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus (1) dribbles the ball in the first quarter against the Houston Rockets at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images
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The Cleveland Cavaliers have had a number of notable highlights throughout the course of their 40-10 start to the season.

This includes a big play this past Tuesday night against the Boston Celtics, when 6-foot-3 Donovan Mitchell posterized 7-foot-2 Kristaps Porziņģis with a monster dunk.

And on Wednesday night, another member of the Wine and Gold added to Cleveland's 2024-25 dunk collection.

During the first half of their contest against the Detroit Pistons, 6-foot-5 Cavaliers swingman Max Strus followed suit by throwing down an impressive jam over 6-foot-10 Pistons center Jalen Duren. A video of the highlight is below.

And here is another angle of the vicious slam, which brought the Cavaliers bench to its feet and left many in disbelief.

During his time in the NBA, Strus has become more well-known for his perimeter shooting prowess than driving to the paint.

For perspective, entering play on Wednesday, the 28-year-old had attempted just 25 shots from inside of five feet compared to 120 attempts from five feet and beyond in his first 22 games played this season. He also averaged just 2.4 drives to the basket per game this season prior to Wednesday night's contest.

A basketball player dribbling a basketball while wearing a wine and gold uniform.
Jan 25, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus (1) dribbles the ball in the first quarter against the Houston Rockets at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images

Strus played a key role in Cleveland jumping out to a 65-56 lead over the Pistons at halftime. He was one of two Cavaliers to score in double-figures, tallying 10 points, three rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block.

The sharpshooter's dunk was truly an outlier in his scoring, as it was his only shot attempt of the first half that was not from beyond the three-point line.

Strus and the Wine and Gold will look to build onto their successful first half, as the team strives for its 41st win of the season.


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Logan Potosky
LOGAN POTOSKY

Logan Potosky is an aspiring play-by-play sports broadcaster who, to date, has called approximately 350+ hours of professional, college, and high school sporting events. He is currently the Play-by-Play Broadcaster for the Lake County Captains, the High-A Affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. He graduated from John Carroll University in May of 2023 with a degree in Communication, with a concentration in Digital Media, and a minor in Entrepreneurship.