Even when his shot isn't falling, LeBron James is the league's most dangerous player.
James had the worst first-quarter shooting performance of his career Sunday, starting Game 3 against the Atlanta Hawks 0-of-10 from the floor and taking 16 minutes to get on the scoreboard.
The Cleveland Cavaliers hung tough through James' struggles and he'd reward them in a major way after getting off the schnide. While James still didn't shoot well overall, he went 13-of-27 after the 0-fer start and recorded the 12th triple-double of his playoff career. He notched the triple-double before the third quarter was even through, ultimately finishing with 37 points, 18 rebounds, and 13 assists in the overtime victory.
That gives James sole possession of second place on the all-time career playoff triple-double list, pushing him ahead of Jason Kidd but leaving him eighteen shy of Magic Johnson.
James last recorded a playoff triple-double on June 18, 2013 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, a series his Miami Heat would ultimately win. Six of his previous 11 playoff triple-doubles came as a member of the Cavs, including his most notable - a 27-19-10 performance in a Game 6 loss to the Boston Celtics, James' final game as a Cavalier at the time.
The four-time MVP also ranks seventh in all-time regular season triple-doubles with 39.
James also passed Karl Malone for sixth on the NBA's all-time playoff scoring list on Sunday and set a personal career-high - playoff or regular season - with 37 field goal attempts. So it was quite a night, even though it started off colder than any James game has ever started out.
The Cavs now have a commanding 3-0 series lead the Eastern Conference Finals, all but punching James' ticket to a fifth conescutive NBA Finals.
