THE Cavaliers knocked down an NBA single-game record 25 3-pointers in their 123-98 decimation of the Atlanta Hawks in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals series Wednesday night, giving them a 2-0 lead in a series that we might as well call now.

    With Kyrie Irving’s 3-pointer with 5:06 left in the third, the Cavs surpassed the previous postseason record of 21 set by the Golden State Warriors on April 24.

    The Cavaliers tore apart the Hawks with ball movement early and broke Atlanta’s spirit with lights-out shooting. They figured out the formula to success and executed it to perfection, and that should scare the NBA’s two best teams as they fight it out on the other side of the bracket.

    It’s not just the shooting that makes the Cavs formidable. To go with the record 25 3-pointers, the Cavs had 27 assists and a 20 percent assist ratio — numbers on par with what the Warriors averaged in the regular season.

    This is not the Cavaliers team from the regular season, nor the team that dispatched the Pistons in four games in the first round of the playoffs.

    That team utilized isolation plays on nine percent of their overall possessions — fifth-most in the NBA — which was nearly twice the frequency of the Spurs (5 percent.)

    That team had players averaging 2.25 dribbles and 2.85 seconds per touch. It was a stagnant offense of a bygone era that was able to succeed because of LeBron’s otherworldly talents and the offensive brilliance of Irving.

    But that formula wasn’t going to work against the Hawks — one of the league’s pace-and-space pacesetters — and it surely wasn’t going to work if the Cavs advanced out of the Eastern Conference.

    Despite their ownership of the Hawks, Cleveland didn’t rest on its laurels heading into this series — it adapted its game in a big way. And while the 3-point shot might not always be there, the newfound ball movement will continue to give the Cavs open looks as these playoffs progress.(SD-Agencies)