CLEVELAND, Ohio - After willing his team to a 3-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Finals at The Q on Sunday night with an exhilarating performance, a long soak in the cold tub followed.
When LeBron James finally entered the locker room, he made quite the entrance in bumping "Fire and Desire" by Teena Marie and Rick James on his Beats sound system.
The title of that R&B classic is what it took to lead his team to the victory. It took fire and desire for James to withstand a 0-for-10 start, the worst opening of his career. It took fire and desire to withstand the leg cramps, the ankle sprain and the stiffening back.
It took his 12th career postseason triple-double of 37 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists to place the Atlanta Hawks on the brink of embarking on an extended vacation. He became the first player in playoff history to produce a stat line of at least 37 points, 18 boards and 13 dimes.
His greatness, his dominance can no longer be brushed to the side. There are those who believe his time has almost come.
Michael Jordan's long-coveted slot as the supreme basketball player in the history of the game is in serious jeopardy of being dropped down a peg.
"The only thing that he's missing is a couple more championships and then it's a wrap," Kendrick Perkins told Northeast Ohio Media Group. "Right now we have arguably the best player to ever play the game. I'm just saying man. I'm not taking anything away from Jordan, but all (James is) missing is titles. A couple of more titles and that's it."
Perkins has played with some of the greats in Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. He grew up watching Jordan play.
His Airness claimed six NBA titles in six NBA Finals appearances. James has secured two Larry O'Brien trophies in five opportunities.
At the rate the Cavaliers are going with their drive and resolve, a 51-year professional championship drought is on the verge of collapsing. Five wins separate the Cavaliers from finally exhaling.
In the meantime, the Hawks have another brutal appointment on Tuesday with the havoc, destruction and sheer brute force known as LeBron James, perhaps the best player to step foot on a hardwood floor.
"That's one hell of a debate. Honestly, in my opinion, if it's not Jordan then it's him," J.R. Smith told NEOMG. "It used to be no question. It was a landslide. It was Jordan. Now, you have to consider my boy."
So cool and so calmly, James knocked down a corner three in overtime by eluding Paul Millsap with a pump-fake before launching his trey that put the Cavaliers up one and up for good with 36 seconds remaining.
Tristan Thompson, who has been playing like a mad man, wrestled down the offensive board from a missed James jumper and got the ball right back to him for that dagger of a three, earning the most vital assist of his career thus far.
"I saw in his mind that he wanted to go back up for that shot and I yelled his name probably as loud as I could yell it because I wanted another opportunity," James said.
A gritty Hawks team clawed and scratched their way to making it a game. Already without Kyle Korver, Atlanta had Al Horford -- who was brilliant in the first half -- ejected for imitating Macho Man Randy Savage with a flying elbow drop that nearly connected on the side of Matthew Dellavedova's head.
Atlanta was depleted, and still managed to put up a fight.
That's where fire and desire came into play. Cleveland was confronted by an opponent determined to steal a game at The Q and make the series interesting. James wouldn't have any of that. Soon enough, the team followed his lead.
James said "you never have control of the series until you end it." This team is focused.
"Yes sir, this is a championship team," Anderson Varejao said to NEOMG. "I'm proud of everybody. Guys are doing an unbelievable job. Everybody is ready every time their names are called. We're responding well to all the injuries we had throughout the whole season and I really believe that we have a good chance to finish it on Tuesday."
Speaking of finish, James drove to the basket and finished a vicious one-handed slam over Kent Bazemore and Mike Muscala in the third quarter. The Hawks weren't expecting that burst.
James ran himself into exhaustion. Immediately after the game he fell to the floor, trying to catch his breath. That's what it took on this night.
Smith was so immersed in the vibe of the evening that he briefly joined the media where James and Dellavedova were taking questions at the podium. He requested the microphone, but was respectfully turned down. It was classic moment that never happened.
James, the greatest of all time? We'll find out soon enough. Fire and Desire? It was an appropriate postgame soundtrack. The journey continues.
"Just think about it, truthfully, if he wanted to, he could win the MVP every year," Perkins said. "Think about that. He averaged 25 [points], 6 [rebounds] and 7 [assists]. That's absurd, and people are like 'he had a down year.' That's crazy talk. When it's all said and done, he'll probably be the best the game has seen."