Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg had a quick introduction to Luka Doncic's playing style for the Los Angeles Lakers in Wednesday night's regular-season opener between the two teams. Lendeborg, making his first start after becoming the Warriors' first-round pick, saw Doncic score 28 points, along with eight rebounds and seven assists in the Lakers' 127-105 win. He also witnessed how much the NBA All-Star gets on the referees about foul calls and non-calls.
"To me, it's like a lot of flopping, a lot of fouling, a lot of praying to the ref, man. Interesting first game for me, for sure," Lendeborg told reporters postgame. "I had a lot of respect for him.
I didn't really watch the NBA much; I just watched highlights, seeing him, you know, kill people all the time, but then being in there firsthand, watching all the whining and complaining, I lost all respect for him. "It's not about the foul being called; it's about him complaining the entire game," Lendeborg said. "And then you got to foul call, and then you talk to me like you did something great? 'Like, congratulations.' That [expletive] is weak." More news: Anthony Edwards Joins Elite Group With Historic Feat in Timberwolves Blowout In his first NBA game, Lendeborg connected on 5 of 11 field goals, finishing with 12 points, three rebounds, and two assists.
He also had four personal fouls in his first regular-season game. Both teams shot 27 free throws, and the Lakers actually committed 25 fouls to the Warriors' 19. Doncic made all nine of the free throws he took during the Lakers' win.
"I was telling him he sucks. 'You can't score on me,'" Lendeborg admitted. "I said a couple cuss words obviously; that's why I got the technical." An individual off-camera told reporters to ask "some questions now" instead of asking about the back-and-forth between Lendeborg and Doncic. Lendeborg seemed to enjoy discussing his banter and trash talk with Doncic after a blowout loss.
However, the Lakers shot 57% from the field and 39% from the 3-point range. The Lakers also outrebounded the Warriors 43-36 to pick up their first win of the season. Lendeborg will get several more opportunities to show up and shut down Doncic after their season-opening meeting.
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