CLEVELAND (AP) — Most people would be happy to have 24 points in their first game back after missing most of the season because of a broken left foot.
Not Max Strus.
Don’t get the Cleveland forward wrong. He was happy to be back on the court Sunday, but the effort by him came in a loss as Dallas pulled away for a 130-120 victory.
The loss to the Mavericks came two days after the Cavaliers earned a 138-105 victory in Dallas.
“I wasn’t good enough. Obviously we didn’t win, so you could say all the things you want to say. I’m proud of myself, yes, but at the end of the day we didn’t win the game. It’s a bad loss for us and hopefully we get the next one,” Strus said.
The 6-foot-5 forward suffered a Jones fracture — a break of the bone that connects the little toe to the base of the foot — during offseason training and underwent surgery on Aug. 26.
When Strus had the surgery, it was expected he would resume basketball activities in three to four months.
However, the recovery took longer than planned and he missed Cleveland’s first 67 games.
Strus entered Sunday’s game with 4:53 remaining in the first quarter. He made a pair of 3-pointers from the left wing in his first 75 seconds on the court.
Strus scored 16 points in the first half. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he is the first player since 1997-98 to score at least 15 points in the first half of a season debut after not playing in at least the first 60 games of the season.
He finished 7 of 9 from the field, including 6 of 7 on 3-pointers, in 23 minutes.
“Everybody telling me I need to be more positive. So still going to try to be myself, but understand and be grateful for a lot of things and being grateful to be happy,” Strus said. “It was hard to not play, to not be out there with my teammates for that long. I didn’t expect it to be that long, but it was.”
Coach Kenny Atkinson said before the game that he was expecting Strus to play 20 to 24 minutes. That will build up as the season goes along.
“I think it’s an emotional day when you witness someone go through what he has during the offseason and then struggling to get back. It’s emotional, but it’s also exciting,” Atkinson said. “And then just to get an injection of energy and the competitor he is back in the locker room. It’s good timing and will be a boost for the team, not just today but going forward.”
Where Strus — who averaged 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists last season — figures into the Cavs late-season and postseason plans will be a work in progress.
Cleveland is 10-6 since its blockbuster trade for James Harden, but has gone 5-6 in its past 11.
Center Jarrett Allen remains out because of knee tendinitis, which is another setback for a Cavaliers’ roster that has struggled with injuries all season.
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