Yaxel Lendeborg scored 37 points Sunday night as the Golden State Warriors defeated the LA Clippers 124-112 in San Francisco, extending their winning streak to four games after an 0-3 start. His performance marked the highest scoring total by a Warriors rookie since Stephen Curry in 2010.
Playing his seventh NBA game, Lendeborg shot 13-for-19 from the field and made six 3-pointers. Golden State rested Curry and Draymond Green for the opening game of a back-to-back, reserving them for Monday's matchup with the Phoenix Suns. Lendeborg said Curry's absence gave him a chance to take on a leading role.
The rookie has now surpassed 30 points twice during his first two weeks as a professional, after reaching that mark just once in 112 college games. With scoring performances of 26, 26, 31 and 37 points already, he is averaging 22.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists, putting him in the early Rookie of the Year conversation.
That production has addressed a pressing need for Golden State, which has sought another scorer alongside Curry since Jimmy Butler tore an ACL last January. Lendeborg entered the draft regarded as a versatile wing suited to a supporting offensive role. After three years in junior college, he averaged 13.8 and 17.7 points in two seasons at UAB, then 15.1 during Michigan's national championship season.
His perimeter shooting developed substantially at Michigan. Lendeborg said then-assistant coach Mike Boynton encouraged him to shoot more because head coach Dusty May planned to play him at small forward. After averaging only one 3-point attempt per game at UAB, he shot 37% on 4.5 attempts per game during his Michigan season.
Lendeborg recalled initially needing 40 minutes to make five consecutive 3-pointers in practice, before progressing months later to making 20 straight. Against the Clippers, four of his six successful 3-pointers came off the dribble. A third-quarter burst drew an animated celebration from Curry on the bench. Coach Steve Kerr said the rookie's skill had been evident during a June workout, but Sunday's display exceeded his expectations.
The finish also brought a lesson about pursuing personal milestones. Lendeborg said teammates De'Anthony Melton and Will Richard told him late in the game that he needed three more points to reach 40. He then attempted three difficult 3-pointers and missed them all, helping give the Clippers an opening to briefly reduce the deficit to eight.
Kerr called timeout and removed Lendeborg, and Golden State secured the victory with the rookie on the bench. Lendeborg acknowledged letting his teammates' encouragement influence his decisions and said he would avoid chasing statistics in the future.
Despite that ending, Kerr praised the impact Lendeborg has made while still adjusting to the speed of NBA play. He credited the rookie as the principal reason Golden State could score 124 points without Curry and said he expected further improvement as Lendeborg learned the professional game.
