By Matthew T.F. Harrington

nbcsports.com photo: Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry is restrained by Klay Thompson after throwing his mouth guard at a fan in Game Six at Quicken Loans Arena on Thursday night

And so one game will cement the Golden State Warriors place in history. The Cleveland Cavaliers turned a 3-1 series deficit into a decisive game 7, besting the Warriors 115-101 to avoid a Warriors repeat for the second consecutive contest. LeBron James scored a game-high 41 points to set up Sunday’s match-up at Oracle Arena. Stephen Curry scored 30 for Golden State but found himself in the locker room early after fouling out with just over 4 minutes left in regulation.

The Cavaliers never trailed, opening the game on an 8-0 run, leading 31-11 after one quarter. The Cavs lead by as much as 59-43 heading into the half, then managed to stave off any Warriors charges in the second half. The closest Golden State got to the Cavs in the 4^th quarter was when they were down by 9 points with 6:22 left to play.

The Warriors, already down a man with Andrew Bogut nursing an injury, played with a number of players in foul trouble. Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Shaun Livingston all had 3 fouls by the end of the 1^st half. Each team committed 25 fouls, with Cleveland hitting 25 of 32 free throws while The Warriors hit 20 of 29.

While Curry stepped up in many ways, his foul trouble made him ineffective on the defensive end. In his return from a suspension, Draymond Green scuffled with only 8 points and 6 assists, though he did pick up 10 rebounds. Klay Thompson scored 25 but only 4 of 7 free throws with a number of critical misses. In total, the Warriors were 33 for 82 from the field.

The Cavs, meanwhile feasted with their backs against the wall. The Cavs shot 51 % from the field, led by LeBron’s 41 points on 16 of 27 shooting. Kyrie Irving cooled off after his scorching game 5 in Oakland, netting only 23 points. Kevin Love scored 7 points, playing just 12 minutes. Tristan Thompson dominated the boards with 16 rebounds, scoring the double-double with 15 points.

For the second consecutive series, the Warriors will head to a game 7 on home court. In an opposite situation, the Warriors were down 3-1 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals but rattled off three-straight wins including a 96-88 win at home to face Cleveland. The Cavs are the first team in NBA history to force a game 7 after falling behind 3-1 in the Finals. They managed to avoid repeating history, with Golden State hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy at Quicken Loans arena on this day last season. Game 7 is Sunday.