Golden State rookie Yaxel Lendeborg scores 37 as Clippers drop their fifth straight
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SAN FRANCISCO — Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg scored a career-high 37 points and dished out six assists in a game in which Golden State rested stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, and the Warriors beat the Clippers 124-112 for their fourth straight win Sunday night.
Lendeborg notched his fourth game with 20 or more points, scoring five straight midway through the third quarter that gave the Warriors their biggest lead to that point at 83-68. He shot 13 for 19 — six of 11 from three-point range — and his points were the most by a Warriors rookie since Curry went off for 42 on April 14, 2010, at Portland.
With two 30-point performances among his initial seven games, Lendeborg joined Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Rick Barry as the only other Warriors to do so. Lendeborg bounced back from a tough outing in a win against the Lakers on Friday in which he fouled out.
LaMelo Ball finishes with a season-high 24 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Clippers 127-101 in NBA Cup group play.
Brandon Williams scored 17 points off the bench as the Golden State reserves contributed 40 points in all.
Rui Hachimura had 24 points and Kobe Sanders came off the bench to score 16 for the Clippers, who lost their fifth straight game.
Curry and Green had the night off for the front end of a back-to-back, with the Clippers also playing in the first of consecutive games.
Golden State has found a rhythm since starting 0-3.
Brandin Podziemski overcame a slow start to finish with 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and De’Anthony Melton added 21 points for the Warriors, who were big supporters of the Golden State Valkyries’ run to a WNBA championship that was capped by a thrilling Game 7 win Saturday.
Gabby Williams, Tiffany Hayes and Kiah Stokes walked through Chase Center a night after the Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream in the first Game 7 in Finals history to huge cheers as they made their way to seats in the first quarter. The team was honored at midcourt in the first half.
The arena crew has been busy, changing the court after the Warriors played Friday night and again after Saturday’s WNBA finale.
Up next for the Clippers: vs. the Toronto Raptors at Crypto.com Arena on Monday.
