Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg scored 31 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and handed out six assists in a 134-114 blowout road win over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night.
It has been a loud start to Lendeborg’s NBA career, filled with outspoken headlines and eye-catching statistics. His 87 points are the most by a Warriors rookie in his first four games since Wilt Chamberlain in 1959.
Lendeborg’s production also stands out against Warriors history. Stephen Curry was the last Warriors rookie to record at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a game, doing so in 2010, when Lendeborg was 8 years old.
Asked whether he was surprising himself, Lendeborg did not hesitate. “Absolutely,” he said. “Especially this game. I had 13 free throws. That’s crazy. That’s absurd for me.”
A major opportunity on the wing
The Warriors are without the injured and rehabbing Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody to open the season, which has left a void and a major opportunity on the wing for Lendeborg to fill.
At 24, Lendeborg is an older rookie and is considered an advanced prospect. Everyone on the ground level of the Warriors’ operation has admitted that he is further along than expected on the offensive end. Draymond Green offered his view on the matter. “He’s able to impose his will on the game,” Green said. “I don’t care what age you are — it’s the NBA.”
The Warriors entered the night with an 0-3 start and were seven-point underdogs against a rested Nuggets team at home. They faced a real danger of falling into an early-season spiral. Instead, they controlled much of the game, and they did so without needing a particularly aggressive Curry.
The Warriors’ star guard attempted only one first-half shot, a made 3, yet Golden State still led by four at halftime, thanks to 15 Lendeborg points and six 3s from the veteran bench.
Curry takes over, then steps aside
Curry lit it up in the third quarter, making all seven of his shots. He finished with an efficient 24 points on 8-of-8 shooting, only the second perfect shooting night of his legendary career.
Curry did not need to be involved in the game’s biggest moments, however. The Warriors outscored the Nuggets by seven in his 27 minutes on the floor and by 13 in the 21 minutes he rested. That included a fourth-quarter closeout with Curry and Green on the bench, as Lendeborg and fourth-year guard Brandin Podziemski (18 points, seven rebounds, five assists) put the game away.
Lendeborg missed seven of his eight 3-point attempts but dominated the second half with a series of powerful downhill drives past Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic and whoever else Denver put in front of him. His 31 free throw attempts through four games rank seventh in the NBA.
The Nuggets had a chance to mount another late charge, similar to their frantic fourth-quarter comeback a couple of nights earlier. Lendeborg slammed the door, however, with a driving assist for an Al Horford 3, a transition alley-oop finish and another assist, this time for a Gui Santos 3.
Nuggets fall to 1-2
The loss dropped the Nuggets to a disappointing 1-2. Their lone win came in an overtime comeback against the New Orleans Pelicans, but boos from the home crowd during that game left Jokic critical of the team’s supporters after the game. He said those who booed did not need to come back.
After Monday’s defeat, he repeated the point. “I’m sticking to what I said,” Jokic said. “I think they are not real fans.”
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was full of praise for his rookie. “He’s as strong as an ox and skilled,” Kerr said. “You saw tonight. In all the critical moments of the game, we just put the ball in his hands. For a rookie to be that advanced already, it’s extremely rare.”
Kerr also pointed to the qualities that made the difference down the stretch. “Yax has that [power drive] ability combined with his passing skills,” he said. “He’s going to be a guy who closes games like he did tonight.”