Cleveland Cavaliers: Top 5 NBA Playoff moments from Big 3 era

2. (2016) Record-breaking night over Atlanta

LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love were capable of taking control of a game on any given night. These three alone were enough to make the Cleveland Cavaliers a powerhouse. However, there was something special about a J.R. Smith heat check moment.

A heavily underrated member of the Cavaliers championship run, Smith had quite a few memorable games for Cleveland. In his first postseason with Cleveland, Smith played particularly good against the Atlanta Hawks.

In 2015, the Hawks had won 60 games and boasted four players in the All-Star Game. Despite all of this, they were steamrolled by the Cavaliers in four quick games even with Irving sidelined for most of the series.

This was largely due to Smith stepping up when the team needed him most. He averaged 18.0 points per game this series on 16-of-34 shooting from the 3-point line. In Game 1, Smith scored 28 points off the bench and drilled eight 3-pointers.

So, when the Cavaliers and Hawks met again in 2016, it was no surprise that Cleveland held the upper hand. However, no one could have foreseen their offensive explosion in Game 2.

As a unit, the Cavaliers were unconscious from beyond the arch. They knocked down an NBA Playoff record 18 3-pointers in the first half while missing just nine attempts. By the end of the game, they had set a single-game record with 25 makes from beyond the arch on 55.6 percent shooting.

Fittingly, Smith led the way hitting 7-of-13 deep attempts. The Quicken Loans Arena was in a frenzy all night long as 10 different players connected from downtown in this game. The Cavs demoralized the Hawks and went on to sweep them once again.