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BENMARGOT—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors bring a 27-1mark into Friday's Christmas Day game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. ByJoshDubow TheAssociatedPress OAKLAND When LeBron James walks into Oracle Arena for the first time since Game 5 of last season's NBA Finals, he knows it will trigger unpleasant thoughts about how his Cleveland Cavaliers lost the title to the Golden State Warriors. James also knows that winning the rematch on Christmas Day will do lit- tle to ease the sting of the finals loss. "The memories will come back as soon as we walk into the building, but also understand it's one of 82 and I'm not going to put everything into this game," James said. This meeting is one of the more an- ticipated Christmas Day games in re- cent years. The seventh Christmas re- match of the previous season's NBA Finals features a full-strength Cleve- land squad against a Warriors team that has captured the attention of the basketball world. Golden State won a record 24 straight games to start the season and brings a 27-1 mark into this game that is the best for a team at Christ- mas. The Warriors also have won 31 in a row at home in the regular sea- son but none of those games has been as big as this one. So what does it mean? "We either finish that game 28-1 or 27-2," Golden State forward Dray- mond Green said. "That's about it." Not everyone is downplaying the rematch. Cavs guard Iman Shump- ert said he was still "salty" about los- ing the finals to the Warriors. Golden State center Andrew Bogut also ac- knowledged that this would be a big game. "We know it's huge for them to come here," Bogut said. "We're unde- feated at home, and with our record, they want to make a statement to us and we want to do the same. I antic- ipate it being one of the classics that we can all watch in 10 to 15 years." This game will be very different from the series in June for reasons besides the lower stakes. The Cavaliers were without power forward Kevin Love for the entire fi- nals and point guard Kyrie Irving for the last five games. NBA Warriors,Cavsholdrematch James, teammates deal with memories of finals loss to Golden State Friday: Cleveland Cavaliers at Golden State Warriors, 2p.m., TV on ABC. TUNEIN By Tim Reynolds The Associated Press MIAMI Jrue Holiday grew up watching Christmas Day games, with his hometown Los Ange- les Lakers almost being an an- nual fixture in the NBA's holiday lineup. He's never gotten to play on the holiday. That is, until now. He's not alone. Several players will make their debut under the Christmas lights, including New Orleans star Anthony Davis — the reason why the Pelicans are on the Christmas schedule. Then there are some of the top rookies like Miami's Justise Winslow and the Lakers' D'Angelo Russell. And the wait may be over for veterans like the Clippers' Josh Smith, Mi- ami's Gerald Green, the Lakers' duo of Roy Hibbert and Lou Wil- liams, all set to play on Christmas for the first time. "We got Christmas Day be- cause of Anthony," Holiday said. "I think everybody knows why. I'm not offended or anything by being passed over or whatever. But it's pretty cool to play on Christmas. Thank you, Anthony." As many as 46 players could make their Christmas debuts Friday, when the league's holi- day slate has New Orleans at Mi- ami, Chicago at Oklahoma City, Cleveland at Golden State in an NBA Finals rematch, San Anto- nio at Houston and then the Clip- pers and Lakers meeting in Los Angeles. For some like Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, playing on Christ- mas is as much of a holiday tra- dition as presents. Bryant will be in his 16th Christmas game — his Lakers haven't had Dec. 25 off since 1998. Wade will play in his 11th Christmas matchup for the Heat, who are looking for their seventh consecutive win on the big day. "I'm so damn happy about it," Bryant said, "and so damn thank- ful for it." For others, like Cleveland's Richard Jefferson, this has been a long time coming: His only other Christmas spent on the court was 2002. But it's a relatively safe bet that the widest-eyed players Fri- day will be those first experienc- ing the day in which the NBA dominates the sports landscape. "It's an honor," Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan said. Donovan remembers plenty of details from his only other in- volvement with the Christmas NBA slate. He was with the New York Knicks in 1987, playing seven minutes and shooting 1-for-3 in a loss to Detroit. He left Madison Square Garden after the game, caught the train from Penn Sta- tion — under the arena — to Long Island to his aunt's home for the family Christmas gathering. When his Thunder host the Bulls on Friday, Donovan will be the coach with the edge in Christ- mas experience: Fred Hoiberg, in his first season coaching Chicago, spent 10 seasons in the league as a player but never on Dec. 25. NBA For Davis and others, Christmas debut up By Cam Inman Bay Area News Group Anquan Boldin's first catch Sunday will mark the 1,000th of his career. Only 12 receivers in NFL history have reached that milestone. Boldin, genuinely, isn't interested. "I don't really see myself as a receiver. Never have, never will," Boldin said Wednesday. "I don't look at my stats. At the end of the day, they're just numbers." Wait, he's not a receiver, even though he's leading the San Francisco 49ers in receptions for a third straight season, and that's been his job title since 2003, when he broke in with the Arizona Cardinals? Boldin defines himself as a "football player," an all-encom- passing term that former 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh called the highest compliment possible when espousing a player's vir- tues. Joining the 1K Club will mean "nothing" to him if the 49ers (4-10) lose to the host Lions (5- 9). His goal entering the NFL wasn't to put up statistics. He wanted to last 10 years. "And 10 years flew by," Boldin said. Now in his 13th season, he ad- mittedly relies on his technique to keep his slower, 35-year-old body in a NFL uniform, through at least next season. Like others, he craves cham- pionships, and he's 1-for-2 in Su- per Bowls, losing with the 2008 Cardinals and winning with the 2012 Baltimore Ravens (against the 49ers). Unsigned for 2016, Boldin wants to keep chas- ing his second ring, and even though the 49ers are no longer poised to contend, he's become attached to the organization and community so much that he "definitely" wants to return. Appropriately, catch No. 1 in his career came at the Lions' Ford Field, in the 2003 season opener for the Arizona Cardi- nals. Boldin recalls it vividly: a third-down reception on an out route toward the Lions sideline. That 20-yard catch kept alive Arizona's opening series, which ended with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Blake to Boldin. "He was involved in the three- wide-receiver package, and, from the very beginning, he was competitive," said Geep Chryst, the 49ers offensive coordina- tor who coached the Cardinals quarterbacks in 2003. Boldin finished his debut with 10 receptions for 217 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-24 loss. Detroit's defense won't un- derestimate Boldin this time. Lions coach Jim Caldwell was the Ravens' offensive coordina- tor when Boldin contributed to a 34-31 win over the 49ers in Su- per Bowl XLVII. "There's a special kind of re- spect for that guy, and we make certain our guys know exactly what they're up against when you line up across from him," Caldwell said. Caldwell, in a conference call with Bay Area media, called Boldin "perhaps one of the great competitors of all-time" and "a special guy." What makes Boldin special? Caldwell, like so many others, credited Boldin's intense drive, work habits and attention to de- tail. Boldin moved within one catch of the 1,000 mark after his eight catches in the 49ers' 24-14 loss last Sunday to the Cincin- nati Bengals. "It's fun to go back to Detroit (this week) and have that as a memory," Chryst said in recall- ing Boldin's debut. Of the dozen who've reached the 1,000-catch milestone, for- mer 49ers great Jerry Rice is tops with 1,549. Boldin's for- mer Cardinals teammate, Larry Fitzgerald, and the Dallas Cow- boys' Jason Witten both reached that mark earlier this season. Boldin's next catch will tie him with Hines Ward, who sits ex- actly at 1,000. Boldin's reaction: "Whatever." NFL BOLDIN SAYS HE'S NOT JUST RECEIVER 49ers' star wideout nearing 1,000 catches for career, hopes to stay in San Francisco ERIC RISBERG — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Anquan Boldin, right, catches a touchdown pass next to Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Leon Hall (29) during the second half last Sunday in Santa Clara. BEN MARGOT — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Anquan Boldin (81) runs against the Baltimore Ravens during the first half of a game in Santa Clara. The 49ers will play against the Detroit Lions on Sunday. Sunday: San Francisco 49ers at Detroit Lions, 10a.m., TV on FOX. TUNEIN SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, December 25, 2015 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B2