That was a pasting. No other way to put it. Well, there are a few more ways to put it. A drubbing. A rout. An embarrassment – for the Washington Wizards.

Your Cleveland Cavaliers played a sound, smart game, stayed above the junk and had Washington dragging itself out of town for Game 3.

LeBron James led the way, and at this point it looks like the Wizards are wondering what they have to do to beat James and the Cavs. Monday night makes eight games in a row the Cavs have defeated Washington. In this playoff series, the Cavs won a close one, and they won a rout as the Wizards fell apart and lost their composure.

Much will be made of the Wizards’ poor efforts, and the flagrant foul on Brendan Haywood that led to Haywood’s ejection. TV announcers said it was the kind of play that can end a career, and they were right. James said the play was “scary.” The referees rightly threw Haywood out – and did so after reviewing the play.

But the Cavs offense was outstanding. Cleveland moved the ball, had Z and Ben Wallace driving the baseline and passing and shot 10-for-19 from three-point range.

As good as the offense was, the defense was better – and the game swung Cleveland’s way in the second quarter when James guarded Gilbert Arenas and frustrated him to no end. Caron Butler may be playing hurt, but he’s not playing successfully. And Antawn Jamison seemed flustered when Joe Smith started covering him. Smart moves by Mike Brown – a guy who did a lot right in this game, from the offensive calls to the defensive matchups to just making sure his team kept its composure.

Playoff series are not over after two games, though, so the Cavs cannot coast after this one. Washington will play better in their arena, and the Cavs won’t have as much go right in D.C.

Too, the crowd will be hostile.

But the Cavs have effectively answered Washington’s Game 1 physical-play statement with a statement of their own. That statement equaled a 30-point win, the biggest playoff win in franchise history. Is there a stronger statement a team can make?

One note: To the Wizards’ credit, they did not blame the referees or the officiating. In fact, the opposite was true. They said they had to stop worrying about the officiating. At game’s end, 28 fouls were called on Washington, 25 on the Cavs.

Some quotes, especially from Antawn Jamison of Washington, who was most candid and impressive:

“I don’t want what was said a month ago to have the effect of, ‘This is how we view this team.’ We know this is a very special team, and like any veteran team they elevate their game for the playoffs. They have started to play inspired basketball. So let’s be honest, some guys talked, but it’s over with. We have a lot of respect for this team, and we know that they are capable of going past the first round and more. Once the playoffs started, we didn’t say this was going to be an easy series whatsoever.”

More Jamison:

“This is playoff basketball and it’s played differently than in the regular season. We know LeBron is a special talent and he draws a lot of attention. My hat goes off to him and his group, but when we get on our home court we expect things to be different. That’s the game of basketball and it has to be played more physically. That means he can’t have any easy layups, but it also doesn’t mean that every time he comes down the lane he’s getting hit.”

Wizards coach Eddie Jordan:

“We are playing the (East) champions and I know they changed their team but they still have the same coaching and in a respectful way, the monster player. And he’s taking over the series.”

Cavs coach Mike Brown:

“Tonight our guys did a nice job of trying to keep their composure. It’s going to be huge for us throughout the playoffs because we’re going to face adversity at different times and we have to make sure that we stay level-headed and we stay composed no matter what we face out on that floor.”

James on the foul that led to Brendan Haywood being ejected:

“It was scary, honestly. That’s the only thing I could think of when I was in the air was hopefully I can get one foot under me so I can break my fall. I knew it was going to be a tough fall. … It was definitely not a basketball play in any way, shape or form.”

Gilbert Arenas on the physical nature of the first two games:

“The fouls they’re calling out there are like golf compared to what the ‘Bad Boys’ (of Detroit) used to do to Michael (Jordan) and each other. So if it is getting out of hand, I must have been blind when I used to watch basketball.”

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