For Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg, Friday was shaping up to be a big game. His NBA debut drew national headlines when he trash-talked and ignited Lakers star Luka Doncic, who went on to key an LA blowout win. After the game, Lendeborg called out Doncic as a “whiner” and took a shot at NBA stars in general who plead for calls from referees. On Friday, the Lakers and Warriors squared off again, and Lendeborg had a chance to back up his opening night talk.
He didn’t. Lendeborg was pressing, and got into foul trouble, finishing with as many fouls as points–six. And he almost matched that number with his five turnovers as the Warriors fell behind by 25 points in the first quarter.
Stephen Curry: Warriors ‘Have His Back’
But a remarkable thing happened. Not only did the Warriors rally, they rallied to win … by 17 points. No team had ever erased that big a deficit and still gone on to win by that big a margin. It’s the Warriors’ third win in a row.
While Lendeborg was disappointing, star guard Stephen Curry had a message for him: It’s a team game, and we’ve got your back.
Said Curry: “Everything is new for him, but he seems to respond very well. We’re asking a lot of him. He has a lot of responsibility. He’s playing a ton of minutes. He’s got the ball in his hands a lot. So, there are going to be highs and lows to it. I think for him, what I love is he’s really established an even-keel kind of presence and mentality that helps when nights like tonight don’t go his way because he doesn’t kill the energy on the team.
“We have his back through all of that, knowing that the next game we’re going to need him. So, it’s all about the theme of him learning trial by fire, going through the ups and downs in front of everybody. It’s a tough demand, but I think he’s built for it, and I’m pretty sure he’ll respond extremely well next game.”
That next game comes Sunday against the Clippers at 5:30 p.m. ET at the Chase Center.
Warriors’ Stephen Curry Sends Direct Message to Yaxel Lendeborg After Win