NBA FINALS

No. 4 CLEVELAND (50-32, 12-6) vs. No. 2 GOLDEN STATE (5824, 12-5) Season series: Story line:

Warriors, 2-0. The fourth consecutive Cavaliers-Warriors matchup in the NBA Finals, the eighth straight trip to the title series for Cleveland star LeBron James, and once again it’s Golden State that arrives as overwhelming favorite. Both teams needed to survive Game 7s on the road to win conference championships, winning clinchers in shorthanded fashion — no Andre Iguodala for Golden State, no Kevin Love for Cleveland. James will either become the 39th player with four NBA titles, or the third to lose the title series six times.

Cleveland beat No. 5 Indiana 4-3, No. 1 Toronto 4-0 and No. 2 Boston 4-3; Golden State beat No. 7 San Antonio 4-1, No. 6 New Orleans 4-1 and No. 1 Houston 4-3.

Golden State’s Klay Thompson vs. Cleveland’s J.R. Smith. It’s safe to expect James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant to be spectacular. The Warriors have more firepower, but they’re only great when firing on all cylinders. Smith needs to take every last bit of available space away from the ultra-quick-releasing Thompson and not let him get shots off.

How They Got Here: Key Matchup: How the Cavaliers can win:

James being spectacular is a prerequisite, and Cleveland needs to bring the same defensive effort that carried the Cavs in the Game 7 win at Boston. From there, Cleveland needs to do what Houston did against Golden State — force turnovers and attack the offensive glass.

How the Warriors can win:

Take care of the basketball. Do that, and they will be fine. Don’t do that, and they’re asking for trouble. Warriors in 5.

Prediction: