LeBron James is on the verge of leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history after forcing a winner-take-all game seven for the title.
The Cavaliers jumped to an early lead on Thursday on their home court, Quicken Loans Arena, and never let it go, while the defending champion Golden State Warriors spluttered before imploding.
The Cavaliers won 115-101 to square the series 3-3, and the decider will be at the Warriors' Oracle Arena in Oakland on Sunday (Monday AEST).
"We have one more game left," said James, who had 41 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds and three blocked shots.
"We are going to give it all we have got and the Warriors will do the same and we'll live with the results."
A week ago, the Cavaliers were down 1-3 in the series and expected to bow out quietly.
If they win game seven, they will be the first team in NBA history to come back and take the title from such a deficit.
The Warriors missed the defensive presence of 213cm Australian centre Andrew Bogut, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in game five on Monday and is likely to miss the Olympics.
"We missed Boges tonight, but we still feel very confident that we can win without him," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
Cavaliers centre Tristan Thompson took advantage of Bogut's absence early, making nine rebounds and seven points in the first quarter to set the tone for the game, while the usually offensively potent Warriors were woeful.
At the end of the first quarter, the Cavaliers led 31-11.
The Warriors' 11 points was the lowest first-quarter total by a team in the NBA Finals since 1955 when the shot clock was introduced.
Warriors NBA MVP Steph Curry was tossed out of the game in the fourth quarter after he picked up his sixth foul, angrily threw his mouthguard and hit a spectator.
Kerr will likely be punished with a $US25,000 fine for slamming the referees.
"He had every right to be upset," said Kerr, defending Curry.
"He's the MVP of the league.
"He gets six fouls called on him. Three of them were absolutely ridiculous."
Curry had 30 points, including six of 13 three-pointers.
Warriors guard Klay Thompson said he would consider the team's season a failure if they didn't win the title, despite breaking the regular season record with 73 wins.
"It's either win the whole thing or bust for us," said Thompson, who had 25 points.
The Warriors power forward Draymond Green, suspended in game five, did not have much of an impact, with eight points and 10 rebounds.
The Cavaliers' Australian point guard, Matthew Dellavedova, appears to have fallen out of favour, with coach Tyronn Lue going with Dahntay Jones and Mo Williams as back-ups for Kyrie Irving.
Dellavedova entered the game when there were only two minutes left and the Cavaliers had a 21-point lead.
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