Defoe's slice of genius, a minute from half-time, lit up a dour first period like a diamond in a peat bog. As he gathered Kyle Walker's pass on the right wing, he was closer to the corporate hospitality boxes than he was to goal.
But after a quick spin that wheeled him away from George McCartney and Winston Reid and towards goal, West Ham were too slow to close him down. Defoe slipped the ball onto his right foot, evading Mark Noble's airy challenge, and fired a superb finish past Jussi Jaaskelainen from 20 yards.
A more open second half suited the home side. First Kevin Nolan shook off Jan Vertonghen's attentions and sailed down the right wing; Hugo Lloris did well to smother his low cross. Then, just seconds after Clint Dempsey had hit the bar, he lifted the ball delicately over the West Ham defence for Gareth Bale to chase. It was a real poacher's finish by Bale, punting the ball in off the post and scoring his ninth goal of the season for club and country.
Defoe scored his second minutes later after a sumptuous back-to-front move. Tom Huddlestone tackle on Noble, followed by Sandro's tackle on Mohamed Diame, put Aaron Lennon in on goal after a swift interchange with Dempsey. He beat last man James Tomkins and squared to Defoe, who made it 3-0.
Of course, even Tottenham's best afternoons contain a blemish or two, and they were dealt a couple in the closing minutes. First came Andy Carroll's first goal since his header against Sweden during Euro 2012, and his first in the Premier League since April. It will not rock your world to discover that this, too, was a header, a looping effort from a Matt Taylor cross after Steven Caulker's weak clearance. Then Sandro was stretchered off after a challenge on Diame. He was carried from the pitch with an oxygen mask over his face, pointing at his stomach.
Yet these were but late irritants for Tottenham, who moved ahead of West Ham into seventh place in the table. For Andre Villas-Boas, it was the perfect riposte to his irrepressible circle of critics. For Tottenham's fans, the perfect riposte to their West Ham counterparts, who responded to their team's toothless display on the field with a tasteless display in the stands. Chants of "Lazio" and "Can we stab you every week?" were among the more innocuous efforts. Towards the end of the game came the Adolf Hitler chants. Doubtless more will be heard about those in the coming days. But it was Tottenham's sparkling second-half display that deserved to seize the headlines.
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