Get your excuses out the way. Curry was due for an off shooting night like this and that’s why we lost. Okay, fine. It was the last game of a long road trip and the team was just gassed. Please.

These types of losses to below .500 teams can not be excused. Put this one in the category of the Hornets, Magic, the first Wizards matchup. If the Warriors want any chance of competing in any form of the playoffs, then win the games you are supposed to!

Tonight’s loss at the nation’s capital was in our grasp and we just handed it right over to the Wizards. I have seen countless times this season where the Warriors completely collapse in the final 5 to 6 minutes when they should be up by double-digits. It was hard to watch. Ugly shooting, sloppy turnovers, lackluster defense where I saw Westbrook and Beal just easily glide to the rim, and, most importantly, the missed bunnies.

The Warriors did a fantastic job forcing a turnover in the closing seconds and Bazemore had a great outlet to Wiggins towards the rim. How do you miss that look? Wiggins has single-handedly lost both games against the Wizards this season. Remember when he fouled Beal on the final shot of the game in the deep left corner not too long ago? Andrew has some great moments but when it hits the 4th quarter, it seems his strong play just gets thrown out the window and all common sense with the game of basketball is gone.

I’ll give credit where credit is due. Golden State’s second unit stepped it up in Curry’s absence. Poole, Oubre, and Bazemore combined for 65 points. The problem is closing out games against bad teams. The Warriors were up 11 with about 6 minutes left in regulation and let it get away from them. That’s extremely frustrating. It’s a major issue and it needs to be solved ASAP with the final stretch of the regular season near.

Arden Cravalho is a Sports Producer for 95.7 The Game and NBC Sports Bay Area... Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho.