Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) drives to the basket against Golden State Warriors forward David Lee (10) during the second quarter of game three of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, June 9, 2015. [Photo/Agencies & David Richard-USA TODAY Sports]

CLEVELAND - LeBron James turned in another virtuoso playoff performance in leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a thrilling 96-91 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday and a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven NBA Finals.

James had a game-high 40 points to go along with 12 rebounds and eight assists in front of a raucous crowd of red T-shirt-clad fans, as Cleveland grabbed the upper hand in the championship series against the top-seeded Warriors.

Cleveland led by as many as 20 points late in the third quarter but were put to the test as Golden State clawed back within a point with under three minutes remaining.