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By Aman Sharma
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Golden State Warriors rookie forward Yaxel Lendeborg says he can’t put a 1-for-13 shooting night behind him after the San Antonio Spurs routed Golden State 123-85 in NBA Cup play. The loss, in his debut as the top scoring option with Stephen Curry sidelined, left the Warriors at 8-5 and pushed San Antonio’s winning streak to 11.
Curry will miss a minimum of two weeks with a torn oblique, so the 24-year-old’s load won’t lighten when Golden State visits the New Orleans Pelicans after two days off. His line read 3 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 turnovers.
Shrugging it off wasn’t an option for him.
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“I’m not gonna move past this,” Lendeborg said. “I don’t know about the rest of us. Everybody’s saying throw it out the window. I can’t throw a damn thing out the window. We just lost by like 100.”
San Antonio scored the game’s first 18 points. Lendeborg missed both shots and turned it over twice in the opening period.
“I was flustered the entire game,” Lendeborg said. “Couldn’t make a damn layup.”
Victor Wembanyama did the damage. The Warriors made 10 of 42 shots with the 7-foot-6 MVP candidate playing, and that 24% clip is the lowest any team has managed with him out there since he entered the league.
Lendeborg faulted himself for playing timid.
“He’s skinnier than me,” Lendeborg said. “I just got to go up there and put an elbow in his chest and jump into his body or something. If he blocks it, he blocks it. I can’t go up there scared.”
His pregame plan was to shoot over Wembanyama from deep. He took just two 3-pointers. Neither fell.
The flop interrupts an impressive start. Across 12 games, he averaged 21.7 points and 7.4 rebounds, enough to make him a Rookie of the Year contender. He also poured in 37 against the Los Angeles Clippers in a victory while Curry sat earlier this month.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr kept his message steady.
“There’s gonna be nights like this,” Kerr said. “So the bounce back is what’s most important. He’ll learn from this just like he’s learning from every experience that he’s having here in the early going.”
Lendeborg, who took aim at Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers in the season opener, grades himself harshly. His next chance to answer comes in New Orleans, with Curry still out.
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