Warriors Torch Nuggets 134-114 Behind Lendeborg's 31-Point Breakout
Golden State shot the lights out from everywhere on the floor, and a name you probably don't know yet put up a line that'll make you remember it.
Folks, I need you to sit down for this one. The Warriors go into Ball Arena, a building where road teams go to die, and they drop 134 points while shooting 54% from the field and 50% from three. FIFTY PERCENT FROM DEEP. That's not basketball, that's target practice.
Final: Warriors 134, Nuggets 114. The single thing that decided this game? Golden State simply made shots the Nuggets couldn't live with, and a guy named Yaxel Lendeborg turned in the kind of performance that makes you check the box score twice.
Denver came out hot behind Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, the two of them trading dimes like it was a layup line, and Denver actually built an 8-point cushion late in the first quarter. That's the biggest lead the Nuggets had all night — 8 points. Write that number down, because it's basically the ceiling.
Golden State answered with a barrage. Brandin Podziemski was cooking from the jump, Draymond Green started slinging dishes, and by the midpoint of the second quarter the Warriors had flipped the whole thing. Georges Niang comes off the bench and drills back-to-back threes to put Golden State in front. Yaxel Lendeborg was EVERYWHERE — scoring inside, scoring outside, getting to the line, grabbing boards like he was mad at them.
Then the third quarter happened and Stephen Curry decided he was bored. Curry finished the night 8-for-8 from the field, 3-for-3 from deep, and didn't miss a single shot all game. NOT ONE. He splashed threes, he snuck in backdoor layups off Draymond feeds, and by the time the quarter ended Golden State was sitting on a 100-84 cushion and the building had gone quiet.
The Warriors' largest lead of the night ballooned to 24 points, and even with Denver trying to chip away in the fourth — DeMar DeRozan kept them afloat with a game-high 21 for the Nuggets, and Aaron Gordon picked up back-to-back technicals and got himself tossed in the process — it was way too little, way too late.
The stat lines, because they're ridiculous:
- Yaxel Lendeborg: 31 points, 12 rebounds, 9-of-19 shooting — a game-high in both points and boards for Golden State.
- Stephen Curry: 24 points on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting, 3-of-3 from three.
- Brandin Podziemski: 18 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists.
- Draymond Green: team-high 7 assists to go with his usual chaos.
- Al Horford off the bench: 11 points, 3-of-3 from deep.
For Denver, Jokic finished with 19 points, 11 assists and 7 rebounds, and Murray added 19 with 8 assists — but it wasn't enough against a Warriors team that shot it at a 54% clip and got 20-of-21 from the free-throw line.
Denver actually had more steals (13 to Golden State's 5) and more fast-break points, but none of that matters when the other team is raining threes at a 50% clip. The Warriors led 69% of the game. The Nuggets led 25%. Simple math, simple night.
What's next: Golden State is right back at it Wednesday, heading to Minnesota to face the Timberwolves at 8 p.m. ET. If Lendeborg keeps balling like this, that one's worth tuning in for too.