The defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers meet the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the 2017 NBA Finals on Thursday, June 1, 2017 (6/1/17) at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., in a rematch of last year's NBA Finals, won by the Cavaliers in seven games.

The Cavaliers are led by forward LeBron James, who averaged 26.4 points per game during the regular season. The Warriors are led by guard Stephen Curry, who averaged 25.3 ppg.

Here's what you need to know:

Who: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Golden State Warriors

What: Game 1, NBA Finals

Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland, Calif.

When: Thursday, June 1, 2017

Time: 9 p.m. Eastern

TV: ABC

Livestream: WatchESPN

Line: Warriors -7

Series schedule:

(Best of seven; x-if necessary)

Thursday, June 1: Cleveland at Golden State, 9 p.m.

Sunday, June 4: Cleveland at Golden State, 8 p.m.

Wednesday, June 7: Golden State at Cleveland, 9 p.m.

Friday, June 9: Golden State at Cleveland, 9 p.m.

x-Monday, June 12: Cleveland at Golden State, 9 p.m.

x-Thursday, June 15: Golden State at Cleveland, 9 p.m.

x-Sunday, June 18: Cleveland at Golden State, 8 p.m.

Series preview:

CELTICS (53-29, 8-5) vs. CAVALIERS (51-31, 8-0)

Season series: Cavaliers, 3-1. Cleveland rang up 116.3 points per game against Boston, led by 29.3 per game from LeBron James. The first three games were decided by six or fewer before the Cavaliers rolled to a 114-91 victory in Boston on April 5, a win that at the time had the defending champions in the driver's seat for the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage. But the Celtics did manage to rebound and earn the top seed in the East. Isaiah Thomas averaged 29.5 points for the Celtics vs. the Cavaliers.

Story line: Powering to a pair of sweeps in the first two rounds, the Cavaliers meet a Celtics team that had to go the distance against Washington to reach the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2012. James is in this round for the seventh straight time, having last been stopped short of the NBA's final four when the Celtics beat the Cavs in the 2010 East semifinals.

Key matchup: Al Horford and Kelly Olynyk vs. Kevin Love. Love has averaged a quiet 13.8 points in the postseason but should be eager to pick it up against a Celtics team that knocked him out of the 2015 playoffs when he became tangled with Olynyk and dislocated his shoulder. Horford is averaging 16.1 points on 64 percent shooting, while Olynyk scored a playoff career-high 26 in the Game 7 clincher Monday.

AP Prediction: Cavaliers in 5.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Abbey Mastracco may be reached at amastracco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @abbeymastracco. Find NJ.com on Facebook.