San Antonio Spurs' Manu Ginobili (20) grabs a rebound next to Golden State Warriors' Klay Thompson (11) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Jan. 25, 2016, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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By Mark Travis

In a game billed as the best regular season matchup in league history, only one team lived up to its side of the bargain.

The Golden State Warriors sent an ominous message to the rest of the league with their dominant 120-90 victory against San Antonio on Monday night. The Spurs came into the game having lost six times by a total of 33 points, only to lose to the Warriors by 30 points in one demoralizing night.

There are two ways to react to a result like this. One logical way of thinking about it is to say its one game out of 82, and that regular season results don't mean much for either team.

On the other hand, during a season when only four teams have a legitimate shot at a title (these two plus the Thunder and Cavs), Monday night's matchup figured to be one the handful of significant games for the Spurs this season, and they responded with their most listless performance in years.

Here are my five observations:

Doomed from the start

One thing teams cannot afford to do when trying to defeat the Warriors at Oracle, where they have won 39 straight regular season games, is spot them points with turnovers and allow the team, and the crowd, to get rowdy in transition.

Of all teams, the Spurs figure to have the best shot at remaining calm and poised in such a hostile environment, but even a team full of experienced NBA champions can look nervous when facing a test as tough as the Warriors.

San Antonio had eight turnovers in the first quarter and 13 by halftime. It finished the game with 26 turnovers leading to 32 Golden State points. The Warriors did a great job of pressuring the ball and the passing lanes, making the Spurs uncomfortable as they looked to work the ball in the post and around the perimeter.

Some slippage in ball control and sharpness is expected against Golden State, but spotting the defending champs 32 points in an arena where they are nearly unbeatable is a recipe for disaster.

No show

LaMarcus Aldridge was San Antonio's biggest sore spot in this embarrassing loss. Getting blown out by the Warriors is one thing, but getting blown out by the Warriors when Brandon Rush outscores your prized free agent addition is something far worse.

Aldridge was completely out of rhythm from the tip and never resembled the dominant offensive player that was a four-time All-Star in Portland. After the fans voted Kawhi Leonard into this year's All-Star game, Aldridge became the most logical choice for the Western Conference coaches should they decide to reward the Spurs with a second All-Star representative, but this kind of performance might put that selection in question.

The idea that Aldridge might function well as a small ball center against the Warriors came crashing down on the defensive end. In many ways, Monday night's game was a sign that the Spurs are not ready to carry on without Tim Duncan, as he remains San Antonio's defensive fulcrum. With Duncan out and Aldridge playing poorly, the Spurs lacked rim protection and the Warriors cruised their way to 52 points in the paint.

Perhaps it was just an uncharacteristically quiet game for Aldridge (5 points on 2-of-9 shooting), but there were also hints of a substantial problem if the Spurs face the Warriors in the postseason: Draymond Green engulfed Aldridge, neutering him offensively while exposing him on the other end.

Aldridge was a fantastic edition for the Spurs and he will be one of their cornerstones for years to come, but it just so happens that the Warriors possess what might be the worst matchup for him.

Turning back the clock

On a similar note, the Spurs have spent a good chunk of this season reliving the glory days of Tim Duncan and David Robinson with a more diverse set of killer post-up players in Duncan, Aldridge, Boris Diaw and David West. But even though the Warriors a small ball team, this isn't a team that can pushed around on the block.

The bigs that they do play — Draymond Green, Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli — are burly and effective interior defenders, and even when you force them into a size mismatch, say Steph Curry guarding Kawhi Leonard in the post, Golden State's swarming defense makes it an untenable chore just to make a reliable entry pass.

If you manage to navigate through those choppy waters, a double team will come, and Golden State's double teams are simply more intimidating than any other team's. Its help defenders are long and cunning and its rotations are as crisp as a potato chip.

Although the Spurs have been the most efficient post-up team in the league this season, they might benefit from incorporating more of the motion principles they carved teams apart with during the past few seasons.

Of course, this was just round one of the much-anticipated strategic dual of bully ball vs small ball, and the Spurs might reverse the momentum in their subsequent meetings. But given the severity of this result, it appears Golden State's new-school approach has forged a considerable gap between these teams.

The Curry conundrum

There is a nihilistic acceptance of fate when taking on the Warriors: Steph Curry is going to get his no matter what you do.

San Antonio might be the only team that has a credible contrary belief. The Spurs seem as well suited as any team in the league to defend Curry. Leonard is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Danny Green is a very solid perimeter defender, Jonathon Simmons has emerged as one of the league's most irritating defenders, Patty Mills has a way of getting under his man's skin and Tony Parker has played possessed defense this season.

But you wouldn't know any of that if you watched Monday night, as the reigning MVP scored a game-high 37 points on 12-of-20 shooting (6-of-9 from deep). Curry torched every man the Spurs put on him. If they gave him space, he splashed a 3-pointer. If they denied the ball, he hit them with a precise backdoor cut. If they got up in his jersey when he had the ball, he used his slick handle to blow by defenders and slither into the paint.

The kind of cohesion that has made the Spurs the most intimidating defense in more than a decade was not evident against Golden State. They were frequently beat on elementary back door cuts, they suffered from numerous miscommunications both on and off the ball and they had no shot at stopping the Warriors' deadly transition offense.

After the storm comes the rainbow

Simmons was the only bright spot for the Spurs in this nightmare of a performance. Gregg Popovich did well to exhaust his options and to see which of his fringe rotation players has a chance to play on a stage as big as this one when it's time for the playoffs.

Popovich had previously thrust Simmons into a high-leverage situation against the Cavaliers on Jan. 14, and Simmons carried over his strong performance to this matchup, where his aggressiveness and ability to squirm into the paint represented San Antonio's only formidable offensive option outside of Leonard's one-on-one abilities.

Simmons only had six points, but his energy level on both ends stuck out. And when a six-point scorer is the one setting the tone for your team, I guess nothing else needs to be said about the performance.

Mark Travis is a Sports Media major at Oklahoma State University and a graduate of Flour Bluff High School. He covers the NBA for Caller.com. You can reach him on Twitter @Mark_Travis and check out his other NBA musings at butthegameison.com.