LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers will be the underdog against the Golden State Warriors as the NBA Finals get underway next week.The 2016 champion Cavs will battle the 2015 champion Warriors for the third straight year.James scored 35 points and passed Michael Jordan to become the NBA's all-time playoff scoring leader as the Cavaliers routed the Boston Celtics 135-102 on Thursday night to claim their third straight Eastern Conference title.Both teams dominated throughout the playoffs -- the Warriors making history by going an unprecedented 12-0 through three rounds in the Western Conference with the Cavs losing just a single game to the Celtics.The league will showcase the two best teams again when the NBA Finals tip off on Thursday night (ABC, 9 p.m. ET).The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook installed Golden State as a minus-260 favorite, with Cleveland at plus-220, meaning a $100 bet on the Warriors would win $38.46 and the same bet on the Cavaliers would win $220, according to ESPN.The Warriors are listed as seven-point favorites for Game 1 at home, according to CBS Sports."I'm going to be honest," James told reporters in Boston on Thursday night, "I'm not in the right mind to even talk about Golden State. It's too stressful, and I'm not stressed right now."The Cavaliers and Warriors split their two meetings this season, both winning at home. Cleveland won by one point on Christmas Day and Golden State prevailed by 35 points on Jan. 16.The Finals will mark the seventh straight trip for James and his eighth overall."I've been very blessed the last few years to be a part of this league and play on the big stage," James said. "But we're going to enjoy this for a couple more days before we have to lock in on that juggernaut out west."Golden State led the league with a 67-15 record this season and is 27-1 in its last 28 games, including the playoffs."Playing in this league, you can't take anything for granted," Warriors guard Stephen Curry said after the Warriors beat the San Antonio Spurs 129-115 in Game 4 on Monday night. "Thirty teams suit up every year trying to get to this point, and only two teams do. So you have to appreciate it. ... We need to understand the privilege that we have and the opportunity that we have to play in the Finals again, to have the opportunity to win a championship."While James is going for his fourth ring, Warriors forward Kevin Durant will be trying to win his first. Durant signed a two-year, $54.3 million contract with the Warriors last offseason.Durant's only other time in the Finals was 2012 when he was with Oklahoma City, but the Thunder lost to the Miami Heat in a series that made James a champion for the first time."It's a little different, definitely. I can't lie," Durant said when comparing the 2012 Finals trip to this one. "I went when I was 23 years old, and it felt like the Western Conference Finals was almost like the championship. Just getting to that point, you know how hard it is and how much work you put in to start the season. So it's a little different now, obviously. We have a bigger goal in mind."James said of the Warriors, "The best team in our league the last three years. And they've added an unbelievable player in Kevin Durant this year. So it makes it even more difficult. They're going to challenge us a lot, offensively, defensively, mentally, physically. We have to be ready for the challenge."