LeBron Drops 47 in One of His Best Playoff Performances Ever; Cavs Take 3-0 Lead on Hawks

Highlights ll BoxIt wasn't quite as jaw-dropping and aesthetic as the 48-point game at Detroit back in May of 2007, but Game 3 of these 2009 Eastern Conference semifinals was one of the best performances of LeBron James' career.Combine that with the fact that Game 3 was televised during primetime on the East Coast on ABC, and the nation became witnesses to the league's new MVP during Saturday night's 97-82 Cavalier victory.The line: 47 points on 15-for-25 (60 percent) shooting, 5-for-10 from 3-point range, 12 rebounds, eight assists, one steal, one block, and just one turnover in 43 minutes of burn. After the Cavs had solid team efforts to bury the Hawks in Games 1 and 2 of this best-of-seven series, it's safe to say that King James decided to take care of the Hawks all by himself on this evening. This game was a lot closer than the final score indicated, and LeBron did the heavy lifting for most of the second half to help seal the victory against the overmatched Hawks.His take?"It's unexplainable, honestly. There's only a few guys in this league that can get into a zone like that, and I'm blessed to have the ability to be one of those guys."You just feel like you can make pretty much every shot you take."James also battled a talkative Hawks fan who continuously had words for The King every time downcourt. If the Hawks had any sense in them, one of them would have went over to the guy and told him to shut the hell up. But they didn't, and he didn't. And LeBron had his way:"A gentleman over there decided to talk back with me. It's happened in the past. It usually doesn't work out good for the other team."One of those instances would have been in January of '08 against Portland on ESPN, when a heckler couldn't stop talking smack to LeBron throughout the 48 minutes. The result? Not only did LB drop 37 on the helpless Trail Blazers, but he also scored a game winning layup with a few seconds to spare in an 84-83 Cavs victory.Whatever you do, don't forget to call the Hawks courageous. Atlanta's Joe Johnson, Al Horford, and Marvin Williams were supposed to miss Game 3 with various ailments, but all three guys suited up with their team's season on the line. Johnson scored 21 points after combining to score that many in the first two games, but the other two injured Hawks struggled. Horford racked up six points, four boards, and two blocks in 35 minutes while Williams had four points with no rebounds and two assists in just 13 minutes.The Cavs were a commanding 46-23 on the boards, a margin unheard of in the playoffs. Even during Denver's 121-63 dismantling of New Orleans in Game 4 of their first round series, the Nuggets' margin on the glass was 41-32. Going plus-23 on the boards is just an example of the Cavs' overwhelming desire to get to the next round and continue their quest for the Larry O'Brien trophy. LeBron had 12 rebounds while Anderson Varejao had 10 and Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Joe Smith each had eight. Once again, the bench sucked. You hear so much about how great the Cavs' bench is with five guys who were once starters, but let's cut the crap. These guys need to be slapped for sucking so hard. You're playing with the best damn player in the world with a hungry fanbase ready to celebrate a long-awaited championship, and you guys play like a bunch of little girls!The pine combined to score seven points, all by Joe Smith. The Ghose of Ben Wallace? Eight minutes, zero points, zero rebounds, zero blocks, zero steals, zero assists, zero shot attempts (thank God), and one turnover. The Cavs were minus-13 during those eight minutes.Daniel Gibson? Thirteen minutes, zero points, 0-for-3 from the field, 0-for-2 from 3-point range, and a turnover. Wally Szczerbiak? Zero points, 0-for-2 from the field (both 3-point attempts), two rebounds, and a turnover in seven minutes during which the Cavs were minus-10. And although Smith had seven points and eight rebounds in 26 minutes, he committed five of the team's 11 turnovers. Game 4 is Monday night at 7 p.m. EDT and will be televised nationally on TNT.