The Golden State Warriors defeated the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night 124-112, improving to 4-3 on the season. It is the first time the Dubs have had a winning record since March 8th (when they were 32-31 last season). Despite sitting Steph Curry and Draymond Green on the first half of a back-to-back, Dubs rookie Yaxel Lendeborg continued showing he is capable of leading the team.
Both teams were pushing the pace early, and a cold three-point shooting start for Golden State allowed the Clippers
to jump out to an early lead. Los Angeles led 37-29 at the end of the first quarter. Lendeborg responded with a 14-point outburst in the second that led Golden State to a 63-57 halftime lead. De’Anthony Melton continued his hot shooting stretch and Brandon Williams added 12 first-half points of his own.
To say Lendeborg looks better than anyone could expect of a rookie remains an understatement. The 11th overall pick is already the second most fluid offensive player on the Warriors roster. He has already showcased an excellent ability to utilize his size to attack openings with his size when he gets moving downhill. His jump shot has looked far more polished than expected.
But none of those previous flashes were as dominant as Yaxel’s outpouring of offense on Sunday.
On one three-play sequence, Lendeborg knocked down a mid-range fadeaway, a catch-and-shoot three at the top of the key, and then brought a Clippers player to the floor with an ankle breaker and drew a foul on a layup. Three levels of scoring on three plays.
Given some of Lendeborg’s recent struggles with turnovers, the Clippers tried attacking him with the smaller Kris Dunn. Dunn wreaked havoc all day defensively, racking up 7 steals, but Yaxel finished the game with just two turnovers.
Yaxel capitalized on his size advantage when he had it, pushing defenders into the paint and finding easy buckets. When the Clippers tried attacking him with defenders who could match his strength, they all were afraid of his drive, leaving him a lot of space to operate on the perimeter. With plenty of wide open opportunities, going 6-for-8 from three point range to start the game before some late-game launches as he forced it to try and reach 40.
Lendeborg finished with 37 points, the highest by a Warriors rookie since Steph Curry scored 42 in the final game of his rookie season, alongside 4 rebounds and 6 assists on 13-for-19 from the field. The Clippers deep bench went on a 13-0 run to cut the deficit to single-digits with two minutes to go, but head coach Steve Kerr trusted Melton and Brandin Podziemski to close the game out. Melton knocked down back-to-back threes to put the game out of reach.
Melton had a game-high +20 plus/minus, recording 21 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block on 6-for-8 shooting from the field (6-for-7 from three). Podz filled the statsheet with 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists.
Charles Bassey was very solid as the starting center, finishing with 6 points and 10 rebounds. Brandon Williams scored 17 points off the bench.
Rui Hachimura finished with a Clippers high 24 points. Kobe Sanders, Darius Garland, Kris Dunn, and Nick Marinelli also finished in double figures, but they simply lacked the offensive punch to keep up with Yaxel’s Warriors.
The Warriors will not have to wait long to continue their homestand. Golden State will be back at the Chase Center tomorrow night, hosting the Phoenix Suns. Steph Curry and Draymond Green should be back in the lineup (although the Dubs will certainly be sitting Al Horford and could conceivably be sitting Gui Santos and/or Brandin Podziemski as well). Opening tip is scheduled for 10 p.m. pacific time.
