By Ben Leonard
Follow @ben___leonard

They say defense wins championships. They said it was going to be the game of the year, if not the millennium. The Warriors’ (41-4) top-ranked offense against the Spurs’ (38-7) top-ranked defense.

But what “they” say doesn’t seem to apply to the Warriors. Behind a yet another standout performance from Stephen Curry, Golden State continued to defy conventional wisdom on Monday night, ripping a historically great San Antonio defense to shreds in a 120-90 win. Everyone around the league took notice — the West is Golden State’s to lose.

Against a Spurs team that had owned the reigning NBA MVP throughout his career, taking 13 of the previous 16 contests, Curry was the Warriors’ go-to guy, dropping 37 points to carry Golden State to the victory. Curry had averaged *just* 18.6 points per game against San Antonio, his second-worst mark against any team, but he stood up to the challenge. Curry had 15 points in the first quarter, sending Oracle Arena into a frenzy.

And it felt like Curry had put the game in the refrigerator by halftime — the Warriors 62-47 lead at the break felt like 162-47, for all intents and purposes.  It was the most points the Spurs had given up at the half all season long– just another day at the office for the Warriors, who shot 58.5% from the field in the first.

While the Warriors’ offense gets bucketloads of hype(no pun intended), its third-ranked defense earned its stripes as well on Monday. Sure, Tim Duncan was out, but the Warriors were lights out, holding San Antonio to shoot just 41.9% from the field. Only one Spur scored more than 12 points — All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard, with 16.

Curry didn’t even need to play in the fourth quarter, logging just 28 minutes while the Warriors coasted to the victory. And turning the ball over just once.

With their 39th straight win at Oracle Arena, Golden State remained undefeated at home, and are now five short of tying Michael Jordan’s 1995-96 Chicago Bulls’ home win streak. 41-0 at home remains well within sight, with one more home showdown with the Spurs remaining.