CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- LeBron James stripped the ball at midcourt, raced the length of the floor and lifted off for a powerful one-handed dunk. Bobcats owner Michael Jordan, seated on the Charlotte bench, could only look on helplessly. James was taking over and the Miami Heat, well, they were starting to look like the Miami Heat of the past two seasons. Unlike the first two games of the series, James made sure this game wouldnt be close. James had 30 points and 10 rebounds, and the Heat easily defeated the Bobcats 98-85 Saturday night to take a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference first round. Dwyane Wade added 17 points for the Heat, who can close out the best-of-seven series Monday night. "We were locked in on what needs to be done and our keys to win this game," James said. James went 10 of 18 from the field and pushed his record to 18-0 against the Bobcats since joining the Heat in 2010. Miami has won 19 straight overall against Charlotte. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said his players took a "professional approach" following a 101-97 win Game 2 that came down the wire, dedicating themselves to fixing their mistakes rather than being satisfied with the win. Now he said the challenge is closing out the Bobcats. "You dont want a series to go longer than it needs to," Spoelstra said. Al Jefferson finished with 20 points -- 15 in the first quarter -- for the Bobcats, who are still searching for the first post-season win in franchise history. After trailing most of the first half, the Heat took control in the final four minutes of the second quarter. Mario Chalmers gave Miami a 42-40 lead on a 3-pointer, Norris Cole hit a 5-foot bank shot and then another 3 from the left wing helping the Heat close the half on a 16-4 run. Miami made 8 of their first 11 3-pointers. The half, which had started with so much energy and promise for the Bobcats, ended with a colossal mistake by guard Gerald Henderson. With the clock winding down, he turned the ball over in the backcourt with 2 seconds left and then fouled James while the Miami forward was attempting a 3-pointer. James made the Bobcats pay by sinking three free throws with 0.2 left on the clock to give the Heat a 58-46 advantage at the break. "We butchered the last three-and-a-half minutes of the first half," Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said. Said James: "I put it on my shoulders tonight to close out the quarter the right way. And I think that resulted in the way we started the third quarter." The second half was all Miami. James, who was booed loudly almost every time he touched the ball, hit a key 3-pointer and had the breakaway dunk off a steal from Josh McRoberts in the third quarter to help push the lead to 26 midway through the third. The Bobcats never mounted a series challenge after that point. James has never lost a first-round series with his teams in Cleveland and Miami going a combined 8-0. There was some intrigue entering the game. James was outspoken on Friday after taking an elbow to the throat from McRoberts in Game 2, although no flagrant foul was called on the floor. The two made contact early in the first quarter when James drove baseline and McRoberts attempted to take a charge, but officials called a blocking foul. James made the shot but missed the ensuing free throw. McRoberts walked away after the foul clapping his hands, refusing to get upset by a call that could have easily gone the other way. Slowing down Jefferson was crucial for the Heat. He hit 7 of 9 shots to start the game helped Charlotte take a 27-23 lead after the first quarter. By the middle of the second quarter, Bobcats fans, wearing all white, began chanting "M-V-P M-V-P" as Jefferson shot free throws. But Charlottes enthusiasm was short-lived as James and the Heat began flexing its muscles. Jefferson was held to just five points in the final three quarters in large part due to Chris Bosh. "They just got up in the passing lanes and made it hard for us to get Al the ball," Clifford said. "Youve got to give them credit. Their defence was terrific." The Heat also turned up the pressure on point guard Kemba Walker, trapping him out near half court. The Heat forced 14 turnovers. NOTES: The soldout crowd of 19,633 was the largest ever to see a Bobcats game at Time Warner Cable Arena. ... Bobcats owner Michael Jordan took in the game from the end of the bench. ... James has scored at least 20 points in all three playoff games ... The Heat are 19-7 in the playoffs over the past two seasons Seattle Mariners Pro Shop . -- Raiders wide receiver Jacoby Ford made it through a third straight practice without any setbacks and expects to play in Oaklands regular-season finale against San Diego. Juan Bernhardt Jersey . It was my fifth straight year attending and, as always, there are many interesting matters discussed as it pertains to the use of statistics in sports. https://www.cheapmariners.com/805k-dave-henderson-jersey-mariners.html . On paper, it looks a little like Andre the Giant taking on a midget wrestler. It has all the makings of a rout with the Americans adding an eighth win in nine outings of this biennial event. The Yanks have eight players in the top 15 in the world while the Internationals have just one. Harold Reynolds Jersey . -- Conor Casey scored two goals, his first of the season, as the Philadelphia Union beat Chivas USA 3-0 on Saturday night. Tom Murphy Jersey . "All he says is, its crazy," DeMar DeRozan told reporters following Torontos win over the Pistons Wednesday. The Raptors longest-serving members, Johnson and DeRozan have had two coaches and 56 different teammates in five seasons with the club, all without appearing in a single playoff game.Adil Rashid took 4-43 as England chased down 277 to beat Bangladesh by four-wickets in the series-deciding third ODI in Chittagong. Click play on the video above to watch highlights from Englands, including Rashids four-wicket haul and half-centuries from Sam Billings and Ben Duckett.Earlier, Ben Stokes broke Bangladeshs 80-run opening partnership, having Kayes (46) caught at square leg and shortly after going past 5,000 ODI runs, Tamim (45) was deceived by Rashids googly and slapped it straight to James Vince at cover. Another long-hop brought Rashid his second wicket; Mahmudullah (6) thumping it to Jonny Bairstow at short extra cover. However, his third came with a beauty that drifted in slightly, span sharply away from Sabbir Rahman and took a feint nick through to Jos Buttler. Adil Rashid ended with figures of 4-43 for England Moeen Ali had Shakib Al Hasan stumped and Rashid then took his fourth wicket with a full toss that was hit to midwicket by Nasir Hossain, Vince taking the catch.Mushfiqur Rahim remained and after being dropped by Stokes on 46, he smashed the next ball for six to bring up his half-century. He finished unbeaten on 67 and, alongside Mosaddek Hossain (38no), he guided Bangladesh to 277-6.James Vince and Billings got Englands chase off to a good start and had put on 63 for the first wicket before Nasir removed Vince (32), lbw.Another 50 partnership followed, this time between Billings and Duckett with the former making his maiden ODI half-century in the process.The Kent batsman was eventually caught in the deep for 62 but Duckett remained and soon matched Billings in going past 50. Watch Chris Woakes smash the winning runs over long off to help England claim a 2-1 series win England looked a spot of bother when Duckett fell for 63 though, but, from 179-4, Stokes and Buttler showed great maturity to take the visitors to within sight of their target.ddddddddddddButtler (25) and Ali (1) were dismissed in quick succession but Stokes (47no) and Chris Woakes (27no) extinguished any lingering hopes Bangladesh may have had of staging a late fightback and got England over the line with more than two overs to spare. You can watch Liverpool v Man Utd, plus Englands tour of Bangladesh and the British Masters on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy six months at half price! Also See: Over-by-over Scorecard WATCH: Woakes praises Buttler captaincy Georgia Elwiss blog ' ' '