The Cleveland Cavaliers were dominant in Atlanta as they took the first two games against the Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals on the road. LeBron James was able to receive the help of the clutch three-point shooting of Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith, and James Jones to seal those wins. Game 3 in Cleveland was full of controversial calls as Jeff Teague and LeBron James both put on clinics, but it was James who was able to give his team a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Hawks started off hot in the first quarter, as they were able to capitalize off of the slow start by LeBron James. Atlanta was able to create an 8-0 run that helped them get out to a 10-4 start. The Cavs started the game 1 of 10 from the field and James was 0 for 9 for the quarter. The three-point shooting by the Cavs helped them stay in the game as a Matthew Dellavedova three pointer cut the Hawks' lead to 24-21 at the end of the first quarter.

James started the second quarter with a missed jumper that then put him at 0 for 10 from the field. James did not get his first points until the 8:05 mark in the second quarter on a pair of free throws. James' first field goal came a few minutes later.

The Cavs were able to get their first lead since early in the first quarter on a shot by Timofey Mozgov that made it a 42-40 with less than three minutes to go in the first half. They were able to regain the lead on a 12-2 run that consisted of making six out of 10 shots. DeMarre Carroll would soon knock down a three pointer that gave the Hawks the lead right back.

With under a minute left, Al Horford and Matthew Dellavedova were caught tangled up which resulted in Dellavedova falling down on Horford's knee and Horford landing an elbow on him during his fall to the floor. The officials reviewed the play and concluded that it was a flagrant 2 foul on Al Horford. It resulted in an automatic ejection. The NBA front office is most likely to review the play and decide whether or not Horford's flagrant 2 gets reduced to a 1 or stays as is. Still, the Hawks went into the break with a 49-48 lead.

The Cleveland Cavaliers played with determination to take a commanding lead in this series in the second half. The Hawks were able to make it a tie game at 67 halfway through the third quarter as a result of a 7-0 run, but the Cavaliers continued to respond.

LeBron James knocked down a layup that passed Karl Malone for sixth all-time on the NBA playoff scoring list. It was a 72-67 game at that point.

Afterward, James had a monstrous one-handed dunk over two Hawk players to get the crowd fired up with a minute left in the third period. Cleveland led, 81-76, after three quarters.

J.R. Smith had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds off the bench as he hit crucial shots in that third and a huge three late in the fourth to give LeBron James support as he was battling fatigue all game long.

However, despite being fatigued, James recorded an enormous triple-double with 37 points, 18 rebounds, and 13 assists. He also took up a career-high 37 field goal attempts.

The Cavs were able to get their first double-digit lead of the game with a 88-78 score early in the fourth quarter. Cleveland was rolling off of a 7-0 run.

The story of the fourth quarter for the Hawks was Jeff Teague and Kent Bazemore. Teague finished with 30 points, six rebounds, and seven assists for the game. Bazemore, meanwhile, tied the game at 95 and soon helped his team take the lead at 97-95 with 4:32 left on a pair of free throws. It was a 14-2 Hawks run.

Teague sunk two buckets with 1:38 left in the game that gave the Hawks a 104-100 lead. Iman Shumpert has been clutch for the Cavs all series and he shined in the moment once again as he tied the game at 104 at the free-throw line with 17 seconds left. The Hawks regained possession and the had the opportunity to win the game. The speculation was that the ball would go to Jeff Teague due to the hot shooting stroke by him in the quarter, and it indeed would go to Teague. It would've made sense for Teague to attack the basket because it is his forte, but he instead settled for a contested three pointer that did not go down and the game headed to overtime tied at 104-all.

LeBron James was battling fatigue and an ankle injury in overtime, but that did not stop him from showing why he is considered by many to be the best player on the planet. The Hawks had a slight lead early in overtime, but James put the Cavs on his back and came up with clutch plays. He nailed a corner three-pointer to give the Cavaliers a one-point lead, then followed that up with a drive to the basket and finished at the rim to put Cleveland ahead by three with 12 seconds left.

Shelvin Mack, who played well enough to get the backup point guard role tonight, had two tries to the tie the game from behind the arc but missed both attempts.

The Cleveland Cavaliers now have a commanding 3-0 lead over the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Cavs can close the Hawks out in Cleveland in Game 4 on May 26 to move on to the NBA Finals.