Yaxel Lendeborg scored a career high 37 points on Sunday night as the Golden State Warriors beat the Los Angeles Clippers 124-112 at Chase Center in San Francisco. The rookie forward shot 13 of 19 from the field, made six of 11 three point attempts and added six assists and four rebounds in 34 minutes.
Golden State rested Stephen Curry and Draymond Green on the first night of a back to back, with the pair held out ahead of a home game against the Phoenix Suns on Monday. The Warriors still won for a fourth straight game, and Lendeborg carried the scoring load from the opening quarter onward.
Yaxel Lendeborg scored five straight points midway through the third quarter to give Golden State its biggest lead to that point at 83-68. The Clippers, who came into the game on a five game losing run, could not close the gap in the fourth quarter, and the Warriors closed out a 12 point win.
Yaxel Lendeborg and the third quarter surge
Four of Lendeborg’s six three pointers came off the dribble, and the third quarter run had Curry celebrating from the bench. Yaxel Lendeborg said after the game that time without Curry on the floor changed his job on the court.
“Whenever Steph’s not in the game, it’s my opportunity to try to be the leader, be the main guy on the team,” Lendeborg said.
The numbers backed up the claim. Sunday was his fourth game with at least 20 points in seven NBA games, and his second with at least 30. His previous career high was 31 points in a 134-114 win at Denver on October 27, a game Curry played in.
Yaxel Lendeborg in the record books
The 37 points were the most by a Warriors rookie since Curry scored 42 at Portland on April 14, 2010. Curry reached that mark in his 80th NBA game, the last game of his rookie season. Lendeborg reached 37 in his seventh game.
With two 30 point games among his first seven, Lendeborg joined Wilt Chamberlain and Rick Barry as the only Warriors to do that. The company is notable because both men are in the Hall of Fame, and both set the standard for early scoring in a Warriors uniform.
Yaxel Lendeborg was the 11th pick in the 2026 NBA draft after playing last season at Michigan. He spent three years in junior college before two seasons at UAB, where he averaged 13.8 points in one season and 17.7 in the next, according to ESPN. He averaged 15.1 points during his season at Michigan.
What the Warriors need next
Golden State has needed a second scoring option beside Curry since Jimmy Butler tore an ACL last January, ESPN reported. Yaxel Lendeborg has filled that gap faster than most rookies do, and he is averaging 22.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists through his first seven games, according to ESPN.
The test now is whether the scoring holds when Curry and Green return and the shots are shared more evenly. The Warriors host Phoenix on Monday with both veterans expected back, and Lendeborg will get a first look at how his role changes when the full rotation is available.
The shooting line tells the story of the night for Yaxel Lendeborg. Six three pointers gave him 18 points, seven two point baskets added 14 more, and five free throws took the total to 37. He did it on 19 shots, a return that explains why the bench reacted as it did in the third quarter.
That efficiency is new ground for Yaxel Lendeborg at this level. ESPN reported that he reached 30 points only once in 112 career college games, yet he has now done it twice in his first seven NBA games. The gap between those two facts is the reason his name has moved quickly into talk about the early rookie of the year race, although seven games is a small sample and the award is decided over a full season.
For one night, though, the question was answered in plain terms. Golden State sat its two best known players, gave the ball to a rookie, and still won by 12 points.