The 2016 NBA Finals matchup is set, and it is a rematch of last year's exciting six-game series between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers. The two teams will vie for the championship in a best-of-seven series beginning on Thursday, June 2 at Oracle Arena in Oakland.
2016 NBA Finals schedule: Warriors vs. Cavaliers rematch begins Thursday at Golden State
ABC will televise the NBA Finals.
The Warriors set an NBA record with 73 wins during the regular season, but their three most impressive wins might have been their last three against the Oklahoma City Thunder, overcoming a 3-1 series deficit in the Western Conference Finals to win their seventh consecutive postseason series. The clincher came Monday night with a home win in Game 7 to eliminate the upset-minded Thunder.
The Cavaliers are back in the Finals for a second straight season since the return to Cleveland by LeBron James, who is in his sixth straight NBA Finals, something the league hasn't seen in 50 years.
Cleveland swept through the first two rounds of the playoffs before needing six games to eliminate the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Cavaliers led last year’s Finals 2-1 before the Warriors captured the final three games to win their first NBA title in four decades. In the 2015-2016 regular season, Golden State prevailed in both games against Cleveland, winning a hard-fought 89-83 game in Oakland on Christmas Day, followed by a 132-98 drubbing by the Warriors on the road on Jan. 18, one of just eight home losses by Cleveland all season.
The NBA Finals will be televised exclusively on ABC, with Mike Breen on play-by-play, joined by analysts Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy, and reporter Doris Burke. The games will also be available online via Watch ESPN.
2016 NBA Finals schedule
Game 1: Thursday, June 2 - Cleveland at Golden State, 9 p.m. (ABC)
Game 2: Sunday, June 5 - Cleveland at Golden State, 8 p.m. (ABC)
Game 3: Wednesday, June 8 - Golden State at Cleveland, 9 p.m. (ABC)
Game 4: Friday, June 10 - Golden State at Cleveland, 9 p.m. (ABC)
Game 5: Monday, June 13 - Cleveland at Golden State, 9 p.m. (ABC)*
Game 6: Thursday, June 16 - Golden State at Cleveland, 9 p.m. (ABC)*
Game 7: Sunday, June 19 - Cleveland at Golden State, 8 p.m. (ABC)*
*if necessary
* * *
LeBron’s NBA Finals legacy
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