OAKLAND, Calif. — Golden State held the Washington Wizards without a field goal for nearly the first 11 minutes of the third quarter Monday night, helping the Warriors extend a three-point lead to 24 by period’s end en route to a 107-76 victory.
By completing a 6-0 sweep of their homestand, the Warriors (57-13) extended their lead over the Los Angeles Clippers in the Pacific Division to 11 1/2 games and clinched no worse than a tie for their first division title since the 1975-76 season.
On a night when the Warriors celebrated their only West Coast championship — a 4-0 sweep of the then Washington Bullets in 1975 — Golden State put on display the type of suffocating defense that has been critical to its league-best record.
The Warriors entered the game having held its opponents to a league-low 42.5 percent shooting, and they improved on that significantly by harassing the Wizards into 1-for-18 shooting in the third quarter and 27-for-81 (33.3 percent) overall.
Washington’s point total was its lowest of the season, below the 77 posted in a 20-point loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Feb. 25.
It was the third time this season that Golden State held its opponent under 80 points.
With a 13th consecutive home win, the Warriors swept the season series from the Wizards for the fourth time in five years.
Thanks to a stellar defensive effort by the Wizards in the first half, the game was very much in doubt when the Warriors went into the intermission with a 52-49 lead. Golden State sank just 39.2 percent of its shots in the half.
However, by the time Washington made its first field goal of the second half, the outcome was settled. The Wizards finally converted a shot with 1:02 remaining in the period, after 15 consecutive misses, on a turnaround jumper by backup big man Kevin Seraphin.
In the meantime, the Warriors used five 3-pointers to pull away gradually. Point guard Stephen Curry had three of them, accounting for nine of his game-high 24 points.
Curry went 5-for-8 from 3-point range overall and made eight of his 14 shots in all. He complemented his scoring with a team-high six assists.
Golden State center Andrew Bogut was the defensive standout, grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds and blocking two shots. Backup big man Festus Ezeli pulled down 10 rebounds as the Warriors dominated the backboards to the tune of 62-38.
Reserve center Marreese Speights (16 points), power forward Draymond Green (13) and reserve swingman Andre Iguodala (11) also scored in double figures for the Warriors, who completed their home season against Eastern Conference competition with a best-ever 14-1 record.
The Warriors won despite shooting just 41.1 percent and getting only eight points on 3-for-9 shooting from All-Star shooting guard Klay Thompson, who played 18 minutes in his return from a three-game absence.
The double-digit margin of victory was the Warriors’ 40th of the season.
Shooting guard Bradley Beal and backups Seraphin and guard Ramon Sessions had 12 points apiece for the Wizards (40-31).
Washington who fell 2 1/2 games behind the Toronto Raptors (42-28) and the Chicago Bulls (43-29) in the three-team battle for the third seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Seraphin was Washington’s top rebounder with eight.
Wizards star point guard John Wall shot just 4-for-16 on an 11-point night. Wall did record five assists, the fourth of which was his 700th of the season, making him the first Wizard to record consecutive 700-assist seasons since Rod Strickland in 1996-97 and ’97-98.
The loss wrapped up a four-game Western swing for Washington that began with a win at Utah but deteriorated into 14- and 23-point losses to the Los Angeles Clippers and Sacramento Kings, respectively, before Monday’s debacle.
NOTES: Among the members of the Warriors’ 1975 championship team on hand to be honored Monday night were NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Rick Barry and coach Al Attles. … Asked if the championship impacts his current team in any way, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, “(It’s) the most hallowed piece of history this franchise has had. It’s the goal for everybody.” … When asked his memories of the 40-year-old feat, Wizards coach Randy Wittman could think of just two things. “Rick Barry,” he blurted, before adding, “That was back when (the weeknight Finals games) were tape-delayed.” … The Warriors went 3-0 in the absence of All-Star SG Klay Thompson, beating Atlanta, New Orleans and Utah by an average of 16.7 points. … The Warriors play seven of their next eight on the road, all against teams currently battling for playoff position. … The Wizards have four Eastern Conference clubs with losing records among their next five opponents, all at home.