Hawks vs. Cavaliers: Game 3 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 NBA Playoffs

The Cleveland Cavaliers all but locked up a trip to the NBA Finals Sunday, defeating the Atlanta Hawks 114-111 in overtime to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Cleveland overcame a most unusual poor start by superstar LeBron James, who missed his first 10 shots from the field. James rebounded—and assisted and scored quite well for that matter—en route to a triple-double featuring some monster numbers: 37 points, 18 boards and 13 assists.

The NBA on TNT noted James' new place in the all-time playoff triple-double ranks, in addition to his exhausted reaction after the final buzzer:

Former Association star and Turner Sports analyst Chris Webber described James' presence best:

Even though it wasn't one of his most proficient night from the field, James passed another all-time great on the playoff scoring list, per NBA history:

Cavs fans were undoubtedly concerned when James tweaked something in his left leg during the overtime period and hobbled heavily down the floor. With James clearly not at 100 percent, one of the Cavaliers role players took the reins. J.R. Smith nailed a three to give Cleveland a 109-106 lead that held until 2:35 remaining in overtime.

Bleacher Report NBA set the scene for James' decision to stay in and fight through the pain:

And that decision may have swung the game in Cleveland's favor. After Jeff Teague hit a three-pointer to briefly put Atlanta up 111-109, James answered with a corner three of his own. He then denied Teague on a drive the next possession and finished at the rim to stretch the Cavs lead to 114-111.

Atlanta's Shelvin Mack had two attempts from beyond the arc to tie, but both went awry as time expired.

Teague led Atlanta with 30 points to go with six boards and seven assists, but he missed a chance to give his team the win with a contested trey at the regulation buzzer. It didn't fall—James was there to put a hand in his face.

Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor was critical of the play design in the first place:

Amid James' early struggles, the Cavs got a spark from fill-in point guard Matthew Dellavedova. It was a strong first half for Dellavedova—he matched Al Horford's game-high total of 14 at the midway intermission. He also played a key role in a controversial incident which ended in the ejection of Horford, one of the Hawks' best players.

With 34.3 seconds left in the opening half, Dellavedova was battling Horford for a rebound, had his arm pulled by the Hawks center, fell over DeMarre Carroll and rolled into Horford's legs.

Horford was livid and essentially threw a People's Elbow down on Dellavedova. The Atlanta center was hit with a flagrant-2 foul and ejected after the officials looked at replays of the incident.

ESPN's Dave McMenamin offered his take on the scuffle, arguing that the Australian point guard was not to blame:

Horford discussed the play after the game, via Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 

Rather than settling for outside shots, James commenced his takeover in the third quarter after Cleveland had trailed 49-48 at halftime.

ESPN Stats & Info highlights how hot James was in the third period:

Once James established himself as a threat to attack the basket, numerous Cavs shooters were spotting up around the three-point arc waiting for their leader to dish it to them right in the pocket.

When he didn't distribute, James found a variety of ways to finish inside. Not long after a collision with Mike Muscala appeared to harm James' right wrist, he used that very limb to send the Q into a fanatic frenzy with a one-handed slam:

Credit the Hawks for hanging tough—they didn't give up even when Horford went out and at least made a stand after hardly showing up in their prior game at home.

The fluid ball movement and defensive play that drove Atlanta to such immense regular-season success surfaced during the fourth quarter. Even James' best efforts couldn't stymie the Hawks' comeback to force overtime, leading to a phenomenal overtime finish.

When the dust settled in Cleveland, the home team managed to get the final necessary stop, galvanized by an inspiring performance from James.

ESPN Stats & Info added more context to James' extraordinary night:

James' late injury was just another knock to an already depleted Cleveland squad. Kyrie Irving has now been out the past two games, while Kevin Love has been missing due to injury since the opening round. James talked about how his body was feeling after the grueling game, per CBS Sports: 

With two of the Cavs' three best players sitting this one out, Game 3 had to have been Atlanta's best shot at grabbing a victory in this series, and it's hard to envision the Hawks bringing that type of fight in a potential sweep scenario. James is clearly banged up in his own right, but he's doing all he can to will Cleveland to a professional sports championship for the first time in decades.

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Perhaps Irving will be fit enough to go in Game 4 and take some of the burden off of James. The more rest the Cavs can have before a presumptive trip to the NBA Finals, the better their chances are of hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy.

And it's not a knock on Atlanta to assume Cleveland is a shoo-in for the next phase of the postseason. It's more to do with the fact that no team has ever overcome a 0-3 deficit. These Hawks don't seem capable of pulling off the feat, even against an injury-stricken Cavs squad.