Cleveland Cavaliers vs Golden State Warriors live stream: Watch NBA live on TV, preview, start time

The highly-anticipated NBA finals rematch between Golden State Warriors (27-4) and Cleveland Cavaliers (22-6) will take place at the Quicken Loans Arena on Christmas day.

Many analysts expect the Warriors and Cavaliers to make history next June by becoming the first pair of teams to meet in the Finals for three consecutive years. The Warriors-Cavaliers rivalry is being compared to the Los Angeles Lakers-Boston Celtics gory days of the 1960s and 1980s.

It will be the first of two regular season encounters, the second taking place at the Oracle Arena on Jan. 17, before the two powerhouse teams potentially renew their Finals rivalry next June.

While the Warriors are on a seven-game winning streak, the reigning NBA champions have won nine of their last 10 games with the only loss coming to Memphis Grizzlies when the Big 3 of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love were rested. At this stage, both teams appear nearly invincible and that's why there is no definitive favorite entering the heavyweight clash.

LeBron James, the man who brought Cleveland its first major spots championship in over 50 years this past June, spoke profoundly about the mutual respect between the teams, before arguing that Golden State would be even tougher to beat this season after adding former MVP Kevin Durant to their roster in the offseason.

"They're already the toughest team to guard that I've played against, along with the Spurs, in my career. So can you get more tougher to guard? I mean, I guess so when you add Kevin Durant, one of the greatest scorers this game has ever seen and one of the best players our game has seen in the last eight, nine, 10 years," said James, who has reached the last six NBA finals -- four times with the Miami Heat and twice with the Cavs.

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Golden State Warriors: Just another game for LeBron James

James played down the chatter that the clash would serve as a Finals preview and wishes to treat it like just another game. "Everyone gets so crazy with the penmanship and the coverage of a Christmas Day game, and then the next day you've got to play again and it's over. I get excited for the game, but I don't really care too much about storylines on Christmas. It's not a big thing for me," said the four-time MVP, via ESPN.

Earlier this week, the Cavaliers were struck with a severe blow when it was revealed that starting two-guard J.R. Smith would miss nearly 14 weeks of action after undergoing a surgery on his right thumb. In his absence, the Cavs have been starting fourth-year guard DeAndre Liggins.

Meanwhile, Warriors star Klay Thompson, who leads the team in Field Goal Attempts (FGA), is particuarly pumped about facing Cleveland and doesn't view it as just another regular season game. “Definitely (looking forward to it). They’re the best team in the East, and we’re the best team in the West. We’re both fighting for that home court through the playoffs, so it obviously means something. It’s always good to play the best teams in the league and see where you’re at.”

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Golden State Warriors live stream: How to watch

Start time: 2.30 PM (ET), 11.30 AM (PT), 5.30 AM on Monday (AEST), 6.30 AM (AEDT)
On TV: ABC (USA) ESPN 2 (Australia)
Live Stream: NBA League Pass (Global), Watch ESPN (Australia)