Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg Scores 37 as Warriors Rest Curry, Face Suns

Yaxel Lendeborg's 37 Points Lead Warriors Past Clippers

Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg made 13 of 19 shots, including six 3-pointers, and scored 37 in a 124-112 win over the Clippers on Sunday, ESPN reported. Golden State rested Curry and Draymond Green to save them for Monday night against Phoenix. It was the Warriors' fourth straight win after an 0-3 start.

Lendeborg has scored 26, 26, 31 and 37 in his first seven games and averages 22.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists. ESPN noted he reached 30 only once in 112 college games. He also admitted chasing a 40-point night late, missing three 3s and letting the Clippers cut the lead to eight before Steve Kerr pulled him.

It changes everything.

Suns at Warriors Odds: What the Market Did

Golden State hosts Phoenix tonight. Per ESPN's odds feed (DraftKings) as of November 2 at 8:40 AM ET, the Warriors have shortened as favorites compared with the open.

The feed does not say why a line moved, so everything below is our reading.

Our Read: What a Hot Rookie Does to a Team's Ceiling

This is our interpretation, and a seven-game sample is small.

• The scoring spike is real, the rate may not be. Making six 3-pointers on a night when the defense keys on a rookie is not a baseline. Four 26-plus games in seven is encouraging, but regression is likely.
• Resting two stars shows what the staff trusts. Sitting Curry and Green on a back-to-back and still scoring 124 suggests Golden State sees Lendeborg as a second creator, not a bench spark.
• The spread moved the other way. The line shrank by two points even with Curry expected back. That may reflect the back-to-back, Phoenix, or something else the feed does not say.
• Lessons count too. The stat-chasing stretch nearly cost a lead. How he handles that is as telling as the 37.

What to Watch Tonight

• Whether Curry and Green play heavy minutes on the second night of the back-to-back.
• Lendeborg's shot diet, especially off-the-dribble 3s.
• Whether the Warriors keep starting fast after the 0-3 hole.
• Any late changes to the spread or total before tip.

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