As impressive as Max Strus’s game-winning 60-foot three-pointer against the Dallas Mavericks was, his postgame comments checked in as a close second. Just minutes after Strus became the hero of the night in a 121–119 victory for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the 27-year-old fielded questions from reporters in the locker room.
But Strus had to interject during one question. When asked if he knew that a 59-foot buzzer-beater was the second-longest in history, Cleveland’s sharpshooter comically cut off the question to highlight that he heard it was a 60-footer. Even still, Strus wasn’t impressed, and we can thank Will Ferrell’s character in the popular movie Talladega Nights for that.
“Yeah, that’s what they just told me back there. Pretty cool, but if it ain’t first, you’re last, in the great words of Ricky Bobby.” Strus joked, per Mike Lucas of the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show.
Max Strus dropped a Ricky Bobby quote about his 60* foot game winner 😂 pic.twitter.com/SJkT0gvgnU
— Mikey McNuggets (@MikeLucasTV) February 28, 2024
The one-liner was perfect for the fourth-quarter hero who saved his team on Tuesday night. Strus also knocked down four three-pointers in 67 seconds to cut a 10-point deficit to just one with 2:35 remaining and finished the night with 21 points, all of which came from beyond the arc.