Golden State gave Stephen Curry and Draymond Green Sunday night off, the first half of a home back-to-back. Yaxel Lendeborg filled the space they left.
The rookie forward poured in a career-high 37 points, and the Warriors beat the LA Clippers 124-112 before a sellout crowd of 18,064 at Chase Center. He made 13 of 19 shots, 6 of 11 from 3-point range and 5 of 6 at the line, and added six assists in just under 34 minutes.
No Warriors rookie had scored that many since Curry put up 42 at Portland on April 14, 2010, The Associated Press noted.
Climbing out of an early hole
The Clippers were the sharper team for most of the first quarter. They led by as many as 11 and took a 37-29 edge into the second.
Golden State flipped the game in the next 12 minutes. The team's website credited the Warriors with a 26-6 run in the second quarter, and Lendeborg was at the center of it, scoring 14 points in the period on 5-of-6 shooting. His 3-pointer with 8.5 seconds left before the break sent Golden State to the locker room ahead 63-57.
He kept going after halftime. Midway through the third quarter he scored five consecutive points, the last of them on a 3 that pushed the lead to 83-68, according to the AP. The Warriors led by as many as 22.
A rookie in rare company
Sunday was Lendeborg's seventh NBA game and his second with 30 or more points. The AP said that puts him alongside Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Rick Barry as the only Warriors to do that so early. The club said he has passed 150 career points over those seven games, matching Barry for the second-fastest pace by a Warriors rookie behind Chamberlain.
The supporting cast did plenty. De'Anthony Melton scored 21 on 6-of-8 shooting from deep, Brandon Williams had 17 off the bench, and Brandin Podziemski finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Golden State made 22 3-pointers and set a season high with 32 assists, the team said.
