The rookie took the most shots and made the most of them. Yaxel Lendeborg scored 31 points with 12 rebounds and six assists in 31 minutes, going 12 for 13 at the line, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Denver Nuggets 134-114 on Sunday night.
It was the Warriors' first win of the season. Golden State is 1-3 and Denver is 1-2 after the game at Ball Arena, played in front of 19,520.
Lendeborg Finished Plus-27
Lendeborg shot 9 for 19 and only 1 for 8 from three, so he got his points by attacking: four offensive rebounds and 13 free throw attempts, per ESPN's box score. Golden State outscored Denver by 27 points with him on the floor.
Stephen Curry scored 24 without a miss: 8 for 8 from the field, 3 for 3 from three and 5 for 5 at the line in 27 minutes. Brandin Podziemski added 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists and was plus-33, the best mark of the night.
22 Threes for Golden State
The Warriors made 22 of 44 threes and 20 of 21 free throws. Denver made 10 threes. The Nuggets forced 18 Golden State turnovers and scored 23 points off them, but it wasn't close to enough. Golden State led by as many as 24.
Nikola Jokic had 19 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists. DeMar DeRozan led Denver with 21 off the bench.
Golden State plays at Minnesota on Wednesday, and Denver visits New Orleans the same night. Full numbers are in the ESPN box score. More from around the league on our NBA page.
