After a few weeks of growing pains, the Golden State Warriors have rounded into the elite form that many expected they would find when they signed Kevin Durant this summer. The last week alone has brought several impressive blowouts, if also a loss that shows they still have plenty of room to grow. While the Warriors are clearly not unbeatable, they also seem to have a much greater margin for error than any other team in the league.

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They proved that quality on Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. Billed as a matchup between two rivals and early championship contenders, the game quickly became a one-sided affair. Worse yet for the Clips, the Warriors didn’t look anywhere near their best. Despite poor 3-point shooting from the entire team and especially Stephen Curry, Golden State utterly dominated the hosts for a 115-98 win that rarely felt that close. The Warriors have now won seven straight regular-season games against the Clippers.

They controlled this contest largely through their defense, which has quietly become a top-10 unit after struggles in the season’s first few weeks. The Clippers shot 39.6 percent from the field and 30.4 percent (8-of-26) from 3 while never really looking in shape to create or convert their ideal looks.

Chris Paul was able to convert a good number of his own shots (15 points on 7-of-14 FG) but managed only five assists, and Blake Griffin had an absolute nightmare performance with 12 points on 5-of-20 shooting and seven turnovers. No other starters stepped up — DeAndre Jordan occasionally popped up for dunks but was a relative non-factor, and J.J. Redick managed only four shots in 22 minutes to end the NBA’s longest active streak of games with at least one 3-pointer at 77 games.

A number of these players simply had off nights, but the Warriors defense deserves lots of credit for their difficulties. Redick didn’t get open shots because he wasn’t allowed them — unlike other teams, Golden State did not leave him or allow his off-ball movement to divert their attention. Similarly, Paul and Griffin were contained by multiple defenders, fantastic switches, and perhaps their own mindsets. After a while, the Clippers simply looked demoralized.

It’s arguable that this defensive effort kept the Warriors from an excellent night at the the other end. The Clippers allow the fewest points per 100 possessions in the NBA, but the Warriors’ top-ranked offense also looked off its game. Curry’s 0-fer makes him 4-for-28 from 3-point range at the Staples Center in three trips this season (including a record-ending 0-for-10), and Kevin Durant had more shot attempts (17) than points (16) for the first time as a Warrior. Only Draymond Green (season-high 22 points on 8-of-10 FG) had a truly great game offensively.

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Yet even elite defenses have to pick their poison against Golden State. While the 3-pointers weren’t going down, the Warriors still shot 47.7 percent from the field and balanced 32 assists against 11 turnovers. Ball movement continues to be the Warriors’ calling card. Wednesday marked the 16th time this season that Golden State has tallied 30 or more assists in a game. No other team has more than four.

The first quarter was instructive, as the Warriors shot 2-of-9 from deep but went 12-of-17 inside the arc to open up a 37-19 lead. The same dynamic generally played out over the rest of the night. The Warriors found the open man whenever they needed, although the shots didn’t always go.

The Clippers actually out-scored the Warriors over the next three quarters, but it’s hard to say they seemed in a position to change the result for more than a few minutes. Jamal Crawford converted a flurry of tough shots in the second quarter to help cut the margin to seven with 2:21 remaining in the half, but that was the closest they got. The lead reached as many as 27 in the third quarter, and the only question in the fourth seemed to be if the Warriors would be able to rest everyone ahead of Thursday’s visit to the Utah Jazz.

One game in December can only predict so much, but it’s hard to see this game as anything but a discouraging sign for the Clippers. The Warriors were far from peak efficiency and still dominated the proceedings, to the point where they never really looked out of their comfort zone even when they had trouble scoring. The Clippers very clearly need to explore other options to beat their rivals, because Wednesday’s approach looked ill-suited to the task.

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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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