Lendeborg's 37 Powers Warriors Past Clippers 124-112 Without Curry, Green

Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg announced himself to the NBA on Sunday night, scoring a career-high 37 points to lead the Warriors to a 124-112 win over the Los Angeles Clippers at Chase Center in San Francisco — with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green both watching from the sidelines. The 24-year-old, picked 11th overall in the 2026 NBA draft, drained six three-pointers, added six assists and four rebounds, and delivered the biggest scoring night by a Warriors rookie since Curry himself scored 42 in 2010.

It was Golden State's fourth straight win, a run that has turned the early season around after the seven-time champions lost their opening three games. The Clippers, meanwhile, fell to 1-5 with a fifth consecutive defeat, and the contrast between the two benches — one team finding new life from its youngest player, the other still searching for answers — told the story of the night in San Francisco.

Key Points

• Yaxel Lendeborg scored a career-high 37 points, including six three-pointers, with six assists and four rebounds for Golden State.
• The Warriors beat the Los Angeles Clippers 124-112 at Chase Center on Sunday, November 1, 2026, their fourth consecutive victory.
• Stephen Curry sat out to manage a troublesome right knee and Draymond Green was also absent, leaving the rookie as the attack's linchpin.
• Lendeborg's 37 points were the most by a Warriors rookie in a game since Curry scored 42 in 2010.
• De'Anthony Melton added 21 points, while Brandon Williams and Brandin Podziemski scored 17 each for Golden State.

What Happened

Playing on the same court where the Golden State Valkyries had captured the WNBA championship 24 hours earlier, the Warriors took control against a Clippers side that never found its footing. Golden State, on the front end of a back-to-back, spread the scoring around its depleted rotation: Melton's 21 points led the support cast, Williams and Podziemski chipped in 17 apiece, and Lendeborg did the rest, again and again, from beyond the arc and off the dribble.

For Los Angeles, Rui Hachimura hit four three-pointers on his way to a team-high 24 points, but it was not enough to stop the slide. Darius Garland recorded 15 points and a team-high seven assists, while reserves Kobe Sanders and Nick Martinelli added 16 and 10 points respectively. The Clippers dropped their fifth game in a row, falling to 1-5, while Golden State improved to 4-3.

The absence of Curry made the result all the more striking. The 38-year-old veteran had averaged 33 points over his previous three games, including 44 against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, before sitting out Sunday to manage his right knee. With Green also out, the Warriors needed someone new to carry the offence. Lendeborg, a 24-year-old American-Dominican forward, answered that call in the most emphatic way possible.

Background and Context

Golden State entered this season trying to bounce back on two fronts: from three straight defeats to open the campaign, and from missing out on last season's playoffs altogether. The early losses raised familiar questions about an ageing core built around Curry and Green, and about whether the supporting cast could carry more of the load. Four straight wins later, those questions look very different — and the newest answer wears a rookie's jersey.

Lendeborg arrived as the 11th pick in the 2026 draft, and his first weeks in the league have already featured eye-catching nights. Sunday's performance, though, was on another level: the highest points tally of his fledgling career, and a place in franchise history alongside Curry's rookie-season explosion in 2010. For a franchise that has built its modern identity on shooting, the sight of a rookie draining six threes in a statement win felt like a passing of the torch, even if only for one night.

The Clippers' story runs in the opposite direction. At 1-5 and on a five-game losing streak, Los Angeles is still waiting for its season to start in earnest. Sunday's defeat followed a pattern that will concern its coaching staff: competitive individual performances — Hachimura's shooting, Garland's playmaking — that never quite added up to a winning team performance.

Yaxel Lendeborg's Breakout Night

What made Lendeborg's night special was not just the total, but the timing and the responsibility that came with it. Without Curry's gravity bending defences and without Green's playmaking, the rookie became the linchpin of an attack that had to find new ways to score. He responded with poise beyond his experience, mixing deep shooting with drives and playmaking — six assists to go with his 37 points — and keeping the Warriors organised when the Clippers threatened to rally.

The numbers underline the scale of the breakout. Six three-pointers, six assists, four rebounds, and the best scoring night by a Golden State rookie in 16 years. It was also a reminder of how quickly the 24-year-old has adapted: head coach Steve Kerr has already noted that Lendeborg is producing at this level while still learning the NBA game, and Sunday suggested the learning curve is flattening fast.

There is a wider significance too. The Warriors' four-game winning streak has been built on depth as much as star power, and Lendeborg's emergence gives Golden State something it badly needed: a young scorer who can change a game on his own. If he can sustain anything close to this form, the conversation around the Warriors' season — and around the rookie of the year race — changes completely.

Reactions and Quotes

Lendeborg himself kept it simple after the game, speaking about joy rather than pressure. "I'm gonna just continue to try to keep playing with a smile on my face. Maybe throw little dance moves like Steph in once in a while, but I'm gonna just keep trying to find my joy," he said.

Coach Steve Kerr was full of praise for how quickly the rookie has adapted to the league. "He's playing this way, and he really doesn't know the NBA game yet … The game is still really fast for him. But he's so skilled and so talented that he's making all kinds of plays out there," Kerr said. "I think he's going to get a lot better … But it's remarkable the impact he's making on these games in the first couple weeks of the season."

The quotes capture why Sunday felt like more than one hot shooting night. Kerr's point — that Lendeborg is doing this before he has fully learned the league — is both a compliment and a warning to opponents: if this is the starting point, the ceiling is a long way up.

Why It Matters

For Golden State, this win matters because of who was missing. Teams built around ageing stars live or die by their ability to win games without them, and the Warriors have now shown they can — emphatically — against a conference rival. A 4-3 record after an 0-3 start is a genuine turnaround, and doing it with a rookie leading the scoring makes it a statement about the franchise's future as well as its present.

For the Clippers, the defeat deepens an early-season worry. Five straight losses and a 1-5 record leave little margin for error, and the gap between individual bright spots and team results is becoming the defining theme of their season. Los Angeles needs a win to stop the slide before it hardens into a narrative.

For the wider NBA, Lendeborg's night is the latest reminder that the 2026 draft class is already making its mark. Rookie scoring nights like this do not happen often — the last Warriors rookie to reach this level was Curry, and his career needs no introduction. Nobody is crowning Lendeborg yet, but 37 points against an NBA defence, without the team's two biggest names beside him, is the kind of night that earns a player a second look from every opponent on the schedule.

What Happens Next

Golden State does not have long to enjoy the win. Curry and Green are expected to return when the Warriors host the Phoenix Suns on Monday night, on the second night of a back-to-back — and the question now is how Lendeborg's role shifts when the stars come back. Does he stay in the starting group, or return to a bench role with more freedom? Either way, Kerr now has a problem every coach wants: a rookie who has proved he can carry a team for a night.

The Clippers, meanwhile, need to find a win and find it quickly, before a 1-5 start becomes a hole that defines their season. Their next outing is a chance to reset, but the same issues — turning individual scoring into sustained team defence and late-game execution — will follow them until they solve them.

Elsewhere on Sunday, the Boston Celtics extended their winning streak to five games with a 108-97 win over the Orlando Magic, Jayson Tatum scoring a game-high 32 points with seven assists, and the Brooklyn Nets finally bagged their first win of the season, beating the Indiana Pacers 98-90 behind Michael Porter Jr.'s 23 points. The NBA also suspended Atlanta Hawks guard Kingston Flemings for one game without pay for intentionally elbowing New Orleans Pelicans guard Bryce McGowens in the head, an incident for which Flemings was ejected during the Hawks' 121-99 loss to the Pelicans on Saturday.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many points did Yaxel Lendeborg score against the Clippers?
Yaxel Lendeborg scored a career-high 37 points, including six three-pointers, with six assists and four rebounds in Golden State's 124-112 win.

Why did Stephen Curry miss the game?
Curry sat out to manage a troublesome right knee, after averaging 33 points over his previous three games, including 44 against Minnesota on Wednesday. Draymond Green was also absent.

What is the Warriors' record after the win?
Golden State improved to 4-3 after losing their opening three games, with Sunday's victory their fourth in a row. The Clippers fell to 1-5.

When was the last time a Warriors rookie scored this many?
Lendeborg's 37 points were the most by a Warriors rookie in a game since Stephen Curry scored 42 in 2010.

Who do the Warriors play next?
Golden State host the Phoenix Suns on Monday night, with Curry and Green expected to return.

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