SAN FRANCISCO — Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg exploded for a career-high 37 points as the Golden State Warriors, playing without veteran stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, crushed the Los Angeles Clippers, 124-112, on Sunday night (Monday in the Philippines) at Chase Center.
Lendeborg also tallied six assists, four rebounds and a steal to power the Warriors to their fourth consecutive victory and improve their NBA record to 4-3.
D’Anthony Melton provided crucial offensive support with 21 points, including six three-pointers, while Brandin Podziemski and Brandon Williams contributed 17 points each.
Golden State’s dominant performance came despite the absence of Curry and Green, who were rested for load management.
Rui Hachimura led the struggling Clippers with 24 points, followed by Kobe Sanders with 16 and Darius Garland with 15. Kris Dunn added 12, while Nick Martilleni scored 10.
Los Angeles slipped to 1-5 while missing injured key players Brandon Ingram, Bradley Beal and Max Strus.
Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets snapped their winless start with a 98-90 road victory over the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis.
Michael Porter Jr. spearheaded Brooklyn with 23 points and nine rebounds, while Julius Randle added 20 markers. Nolan Traore contributed 16 points, Day’Ron Sharpe scored 15 and Moritz Wagner chipped in 14 as the Nets improved to 1-5.
Andrew Nembhard paced Indiana with 23 points, followed by Pascal Siakam with 17 and Quenton Jackson with 12. Kelly Oubre Jr. and Aaron Nesmith scored 11 apiece as the Pacers dropped to 2-5.
Elsewhere, the Boston Celtics improved to 5-1 after defeating the Orlando Magic, 108-97, while the Los Angeles Lakers raised their record to 5-2 with a 131-125 triumph over the Toronto Raptors./PN
