It was close early, but the Golden State Warriors imposed their will on the Washington Wizards in the second half leading to a 107-76 victory. The best team in the league continued their dominance as they hold a record of 57-13, and have an eye-popping home record of 34-2.

MVP candidate Stephen Curry only furthered his candidacy tonight as he led all players in scoring with 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 5-of-8 from behind the arc. Curry also compiled six assists, five rebounds, and two steals in only 28 minutes of play. Draymond Green added 13 points and six rebounds, while Marreese Speights came off the bench with 16 points and five rebounds. Curry was in the middle of Golden State’s barrage of three-pointers as they made 13 total compared to only three by Washington.

Klay Thompson came back tonight after missing the last three games. He only scored eight points in 18 minutes while missing all five of three-pointers, but he wasn’t needed tonight as his teammates really picked up the slack. One of those guys was Andre Iguodala who came off the bench and scored 11 points while draining three shots from behind the arc. Golden State only shot 41.1 percent from the field, but their activity on the offensive boards and ability to knock down three’s really negated their poor overall shooting.

Not one player for Washington had a good shooting night as they shot an abysmal 33.3 percent from the field and 27.3 percent from behind the arc. John Wall had 11 points on 4-of-16 shooting, while recording five assists and five rebounds. Wall did not score a single point or dish a single assist in the second half. The other three members of the Wizards who scored in double-figures were Bradley Beal, Kevin Seraphin, and Ramon Sessions with 12 points apiece.

Washington’s frontcourt was abused in every which way by Golden State’s frontcourt players. The Wizards frontcourt of Marcin Gortat, Nene, Paul Pierce, Drew Gooden, Martell Webster, and Kevin Seraphin combined for 39 points on 14-of-42 shooting, while grabbing only 25 rebounds. The Warriors frontcourt of Andrew Bogut, Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes, David Lee, Festus Ezeli, Marreese Speights, and Andre Iguodala combined for 64 points and 52 rebounds. Golden State outrebounded Washington 62-to-38, and also abused them on the offensive glass 19-to-5.

The Wizards were only down 52-49 at halftime, but the minute they stepped on the floor in the second half they looked like a different team. So much so that they were held to only one made field goal, and eight total third quarter points. The Wizards one and only field goal in the third quarter came with 1:02 left. Give credit to the Warriors smothering defense, but the Wizards did most of the damage themselves. Golden State outscored Washington 55-27 in the second half.

Washington has been trending downward for the last 25 games or so, and their effort tonight magnifies it. It’s not just their lack of offense at times, but mainly their lack of effort and intensity on the defensive end that dictates their poor offensive execution. Tonight they played 24 good minutes to start, and then changed their entire way of playing in the second half leading to embarrassing finish. Washington’s commitment to playing for 48 minutes has to be in question, and they better figure it out soon before postseason comes knocking on the door in about a month.

The Golden State Warriors played spectacular basketball tonight, especially on the defensive end. As Washington started to fall off a cliff, the Warriors kept putting pressure on defense giving the Wizards no chance to respond. The Wizards only turned the ball over 12 times, but the Warriors immediately capitalized and scored 15 points off those miscues. Golden State is the best team on both ends on the floor, and they play in the most hostile arena in the league. They flexed their muscles tonight and continue to prove themselves as the team to beat in both leagues.

Washington will head home and play five-straight games in the Verizon Center. The first game of the homestand will be Wednesday night when they play the Indiana Pacers at 7:00 PM EST. Golden State will play the Portland Trail Blazers tomorrow night on the road at 10:30 PM EST on TNT.