LeBron put all the elbow rumors to rest in Boston last night.  In the all-important Game 3, the King came out ready to have a huge night.  “It was my mindset to come out really aggressive and just dictate tempo from the start of the jump and I was able to do that,” said James. “I think rest helped me. Rest helped all of us and we were able to put a complete game for the first time in these playoffs.”

Our first 4 points came from Shaquille O' Neal, who the Cavaliers looked to get looks right off the bat.  A Shaq hook shot, and 2 free throws later and it's Shaq 4, Boston 0.  LeBron was quick to follow, and began drilling shot after shot.  The 1st quarter was one of LeBron's most spectacular performances in the playoffs. 

LeBron drills his first shot and then follows with a lay-up.  Following that, he comes down and Kendrick Perkins tries to take him out.  This was clearly a dirty play with a football-looking hit on LeBron's elbow side, but the King stepped to the line and drilled his 2 free throws.  Kendrick, nobody likes you.

LeBron drills another 2 jumpers, continuing his scorching start.  He was 4/5 shooting with 12 points at the 6 minute mark.  You knew it wasn't going to end well for Boston.  King James was looking for his own shot, and he was making it almost every time. 

Garnett and Perkins rack up their 2nd fouls early, and we're up 20-8.  The King cashes in yet another deep jumper, and his total is 14 at 3 minutes.  And then another, just for good measure.  LeBron reaches the 16 point mark before the Celtics do.  This is the start we envisioned.  Fast-forward thirty seconds where Bron gets hit while making a lay-up, a rather disgusting And-1.  And LeBron has 18. 

Meanwhile, the Cavs are playing great defense the whole time.  The Celtics are turning the ball over, and they really can't do a whole lot offensively.  We forced Rondo to be a jump shooter, but he just couldn't see the floor like he did in Game 2. 

Pretty soon it was time for a LeBron-dunk, and he didn't disappoint.  After grabbing another rebound, he fed Jamario Moon with a bounce pass on a fast break.  Jamario wisely dishes it back to LeBron, and the king flushes an unbelieveable 360 jam.  He had to duck his head from hitting the backboard; this dunk was unreal.  So we reach the end of 1, and the score is Cleveland: 36, LeBron: 21, and Boston: 15.  It felt really good to have a 19 point lead.  There would be no looking back. 

For once in his life, Mike Brown correctly decides to leave LeBron in the game at the start of the 2nd quarter, for once in his life.  The King responds, starting the quarter off by splashing a 3 pointer.  Give him 24.  Then he swats Glen Davis and there wasn't much the Celtics could do about it.

The quarter progressed, and the Cavaliers defense was exactly the way it needed to be.  Anthony Parker's 3 put us up 55-35, our second 20 point lead of the game.  A few buckets later, the Cavs push the lead to 65-41, and LeBron has 28 points.  That's a good night for 99% of NBA players.  That's a good half for LeBron. 

The half ends, and we're up 65-43.  In addition to his game-high 28 on 11/15 shooting, the King nothes 8 rebounds and 4 assists.  The Cavaliers shoot 61% in the half, and you can pretty much put this one in the books.

The second half started off just as we left it off.  Shaq makes a hook and then gets an And-1 layup.  LeBron drills his first 3, and the Celtics were just throwing up bricks.  Shaq continued to punish them down low, Perkins really had no answer. 

With Ray Allen right in his grill, LeBron double-moves and hits a shot right in his face, giving him 33.  77-52, and life is beautiful.  Antawn Jamison is doing his part too, grabbing offensive rebounds and making a few shots.  Mo Williams also looks better than he did in Gam 2, driving and making some lay-ups.  Time-out Celtics, and the Cavs own a commanding 86-58 lead.  The end to the quarter couldn't come soon enough for Boston, who were down 96-70. 

We really didn't need to play the 4th quarter; this one had long been over.  LeBron never gave the Celtics a chance.  The Cavs never stepped off the pedal, and the final score was 124-95.  This makes history in two different respects.  First, the Cavs broke their margin-of-victory on the road in a playoff game, while the Celtics suffered their worst playoff loss in franchise history.  The King finished with 38 points, and Boston had no answer all night.  This is a great sign for the rest of the series.  LeBron heard all the talk about his elbow, came out, and made a statement.  LeBron James is most definitely Underrated