AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- All hail the King.

If you missed this one Thursday night, you did yourself an epic disservice. Go find someone who TiVo'd or videotaped it, fast-forward to midpoint of the fourth quarter, then sit back and prepare to be awestruck.

PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

EAST FINALS Cleveland 3, Detroit 2 Game 1: Pistons 79, Cavs 76 Game 2: Pistons 79, Cavs 76 Game 3: Cavs 88, Pistons 82 Game 4: Cavs 91, Pistons 87 Game 5: Cavs 109, Pistons 107 Game 6: Sat., 8:30 ET at Cle. *Game 7: June 4, 8 ET at Detroit WEST FINALS San Antonio 4, Utah 1 Game 1: Spurs 108, Jazz 100 Game 2: Spurs 105. Jazz 96 Game 3: Jazz 109, Spurs 83 Game 4: Spurs 91, Jazz 79 Game 5: Spurs 109, Jazz 84 NBA FINALS: Game 1: Thu, June 7, at SA Game 2: Sun, June 10, at SA Game 3: Tue, June 12 Game 4: Thu, June 14 *Game 5: Sun, June 17 *Game 6: Tue, June 19, at SA *Game 7: Thu, June 21, at SA *if necessary (All NBA Finals games air at 9 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN Radio) • The full playoff schedule

This performance was one that'll be talked about for ages, a testament to greatness that'll rank right up there with Reggie Miller's 8 points in 8.9 seconds, Michael Jordan's 63-point coming-out party in the Boston Garden or his "flu game" in Utah, Magic Johnson's 42-point outburst while playing center in Game 6 of the 1980 finals.

"I've been impressed before, but on this stage?" Damon Jones was saying in the Cavaliers' locker room afterward. "Other than some of the things I saw Michael Jordan do in the playoffs, this has to rank right up there in the top 1, 2 or 3."

James took this game over like he had never taken over before, scoring 29 of his team's final 30 points and dropping 25 in a row for the Cavs at the end as Cleveland defeated Detroit 109-107 in double overtime Thursday night to take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

The Cavs will go for the franchise's first ever trip to the NBA Finals on Saturday night, and there's no way James can do anything to surpass what he did Thursday night. Well, check that. Maybe there is something even more special coming up in the days and years ahead, and there's no valid reason to say, "He'll never have another game like that again."

He's so good, he might have a half-dozen more performances like this one before he hangs 'em up. But when all is said and done, this 48-point outburst may just go down as the greatest of them all, the night when King James was oh so worthy of wearing the crown of being the game's greatest young player.

"I feel terrible right now," James said facetiously under the questioning of ESPN colleague Rachel Nichols at the postgame news conference. "I'm everything. I'm banged up. I'm winded. I'm fatigued."

And his emotions? Where were they?

"The simple fact that I willed my team to victory is definitely pleasing to me. This is definitely a big win. One of the biggest wins in Cleveland franchise history. For me and my teammates, it's definitely the biggest win. But we have a goal, and we can't dwell on this tonight when we have another game on Saturday. We have got to do our best to try to win that ballgame and get where we wanted to be all year."

If you were looking for outward emotions from someone named James, the better place to get a reading was alongside the team bus as it was being loaded after the game with the Cavs' uniforms and equipment.

Nearby stood Gloria James, LeBron's mother, with such a prideful look on her face that you couldn't help but smile when you saw her. She listened intently as Hubie Brown regaled her with praise for her son's talents, the brightness of her smile practically illuminating the loading dock where the Cavs' friends and families congregated afterward.

"Oh no, no interviews from me. I just stay in the background," James' mom said politely when I asked her for something on the record about what she was feeling during the fourth quarter and the two overtimes when James couldn't be stopped.

James scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, including two of the most vicious, high-flying, clutch dunks ever, the last of which tied it at 91-91 with 9.5 seconds left.

James scored nine more points in the first overtime when he took every single shot for the Cavs until Eric Snow threw up a desperation 80-footer at the buzzer that never had a chance, and he dropped nine more points in the second OT on 4-for-4 shooting, the last of which came when he drove left -- the same direction the Pistons have been trying to force him all series -- and converted a twisting layup for a 109-107 lead with 2.2 seconds left.

"For him to score 29 of the last 30 points, somebody told me that in the locker room and I could not believe it," Cavs coach Mike Brown said. "I could not believe he scored 29 of the last 30 points. That was a phenomenal performance, not only that, but the guy had seven assists and nine rebounds, he did it all. He always does it all for us. And, you know, everybody keeps asking for more, and he is a willing guy, he just keeps giving us more."

Brown was asked where this game ranks historically, and the way he ran out of superlatives and finished his thought pretty much said it perfectly:

"In this atmosphere, yes, this is the single best game I've seen in this atmosphere, hands down. And I've been around some great players. He was phenomenal tonight, and I felt bad because my words don't give justice to what he did. He was awesome, and at 22 years old, wow. That's all, wow. Wow."

Well put, coach.

Wow.

Chris Sheridan covers the NBA for ESPN Insider. To e-mail Chris, click here.

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