NBA scores 2016: That Warriors-Cavaliers Finals rematch isn’t looking inevitable anymore

What we thought before the season may not be true. Golden State and Cleveland are great, but they’re beatable, too.

Dec 2, 2016, 1:00 PM UTC

NBA: Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers may still meet in the NBA Finals this year. It has happened two straight seasons, and odds are it will happen a third. But concerns that it’s predestined both teams will get there are a bit much, something we clearly saw Thursday.

The Cavaliers lost first, getting smashed by a locked-in Clippers squad 113-94. Cleveland was turnover-heavy (18) and weren’t nearly close enough to making up for that with made shots. The Big Three was alright — 60 combined points, a lower total for them relative to season averages — but outside of Richard Jefferson, no one else on the Cavaliers scored more than five points.

If Cleveland has a flaw, it’s clearly their bench. It’s a collection of savvy veterans and sometimes good youngsters, but even their solid players are a bit streaky at times. It’s still relying heavily on 36-year-old Jefferson and a couple streakier players in Channing Frye and Iman Shumpert, which works well in the regular season but could be exposed more during a full playoff series. If they’re all off at once, like Thursday, then it does spell problems.

After Cleveland came Golden State’s showdown with the Houston Rockets. We were tied at the end of regulation, and tied again after the first overtime. Finally, with Stephen Curry fouling out and Draymond Green earning a flagrant-one for kicking someone again, the Rockets prevailed in a 132-127 affair that featured the most combined three-point attempts (44 each) ever taken in an NBA game.

The Warriors have the same bench problem, but in a different area. Essentially, Golden State totally lacks functioning big men. They tried Zaza Pachulia (minus-14), David West (minus-4) and JaVale McGee (minus-2), and all three failed to provide any semblance of being a big man to satisfy Steve Kerr. It’s hardly a surprise the Warriors lost ground every time they were on the floor.

Instead, Kerr had to lean heavily into small ball, which is why Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Green all had 47 or more minutes. (James Harden led the Rockets with 46, for comparison, despite the two overtimes.) Curry would have surely been up there too if not for his foul trouble. By the second overtime, that just wasn’t enough.

Golden State and Cleveland are still immensely great, and again, counting out that rematch is foolish. But there are real challengers coming in these playoffs. The Clippers are playing their best basketball as a unit, and soundly beat the Cavaliers on Thursday with defense and Blake Griffin tossing 11 assists. The Rockets have some major defensive flaws, but they beat the Warriors in 58 minutes on Thursday. That has to count for something.

Having an inevitable playoffs run would be boring, but we might have called this one that a few moments too soon. The Cavaliers and the Warriors are fantastically talented, but these teams they’re facing have a chance. They really do.

The Jazz really need George Hill.

George Hill missed another game, and so naturally, the Jazz lost to the Heat 111-110. Utah’s 8-3 with him in the lineup, but now just 3-6 without him. Yes, that George Hill, the one that has been underrated for nearly his entire career.

Hill is averaging 20 points and about four assists on 54-percent shooting this season, plus stellar defense. He’s an instrumental part of making the Jazz tick on both ends. Gordon Hayward has missed time as well, but it’s really only Hill’s absences that have hurt Utah so far. In his 11 games when he’s on the court, the Jazz have a 113 offensive rating to go with a defensive rating under 99.

Clearly, Hill is good. Utah’s struggles in his absence also reflects on the point guard situation behind him — not great — and the offensive struggles the backups have contributed to. But while the record with and without Hill is jarring, the Jazz are still losing every game by close margins (one point on Thursday) while dominating their wins. If you trust in point differential, the Jazz should get even better.

The Grizzlies are back at it.

Come on, guys, I thought we were past this.

The Grizzlies ended up winning, despite only having nine available players. Fortunately, Marc Gasol was still around, making this situation quite a bit different from last season’s zombie squad that dragged itself into the playoffs basically without anyone around them at all.

Still, get healthy. That’s been the long term problem with this team. It’s already popping up again, just a month into the year.

The Jazz-Heat game ended strange.

Essentially, the “controversy” is this: a shot clock violation wasn’t ruled correctly, draining 1.3 seconds from the clock. The Utah Jazz hit a potentially game-winning layup on the final possession, but the shot is called off. It’s the right call, but it also looks like those 1.3 seconds would have helped a lot. On the other hand, the Butterfly Effect is in full force here — there’s a good chance things play out difference if that time is added back.

Here’s a full explanation.