Faced with a must-win game, the Cavaliers stars became the first teammates to crack 40 points in the same finals game and scored more than any players facing NBA Finals elimination in 20 years.

Golden State still leads the best-of-seven series 3-2 with game six on Thursday at Cleveland. A seventh game if needed would be Sunday back in California.

The Warriors, playing without suspended forward Draymond Green, were undone when a left knee injury sidelined Australian center Andrew Bogut early in the third quarter.

James, who became the ninth player in NBA history with 1,000 career NBA Finals points, and Irving each scored 11 points in the third quarter. Irving netted 12 more in the fourth.

Golden State trimmed an 11-point deficit to 102-96 on a Curry basket with 6:39 to play, but Irving scored the next seven points, James added a 3-pointer for a 112-96 Cleveland lead, the Warriors going more than five minutes without scoring to seal their fate.

Klay Thompson led Golden State with 37 points while NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry added 25.

The Warriors were without Green after the NBA issued a one-game ban to the forward on Sunday. Green was given a flagrant foul for striking James in the groin with a flailing hand in game four and was banned based on accumulation of such fouls.