Steph Curry Has Message for Yaxel Lendeborg After Warriors Comeback

The Golden State Warriors looked lost after one quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 30, trailing 38-15 at Chase Center, but they came all the way back for a 112-95 win in their NBA Cup opener.

Point guard Stephen Curry led the way with 31 points, six assists and four rebounds, and he hit eight of his 14 shots from three.

The Lakers were up by as many as 25 early, with point guard Luka Doncic scoring 21 points in the first quarter alone.

Golden State flipped it in the second, outscoring Los Angeles by that same 38-15 margin to tie the game at halftime, and the Warriors pulled away from there.

Doncic still finished with 37 points, but the Lakers turned the ball over 22 times, and the Warriors' bench outscored the Lakers' bench 50-7.

Curry also moved past Dominique Wilkins for 18th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list in the fourth quarter, according to the Associated Press, which was a nice bonus on a night when he had the crowd behind him.

It was a much tougher night for small forward Yaxel Lendeborg, who called out Doncic after the season opener, scored six points with five turnovers and fouled out in 24 minutes.

Curry made sure to back him up afterward.

"We have his back through all of that, and knowing that the next game, we're going to need him. It's all about the theme of him learning trial by fire, going through the ups and downs in front of everybody. It's a tough demand, but I think he's built for it," Curry said, according to ESPN.

I think that is exactly how a team leader should handle it, and it means more coming from Curry than from anyone else in that locker room.

Lendeborg put a target on his own back with his comments, and this was a rough night for him, but one bad game does not change what he has shown.

Coach Steve Kerr has already praised his feel for the game, and Golden State is going to need his energy with forward Jimmy Butler still out while he recovers from a torn right ACL.

The Warriors started the season 0-3, and now they are 3-3 after three straight wins.

Curry has been the biggest reason, as he scored 44 points against Minnesota on Oct. 28 and followed it with 31 here, and he looks a lot more relaxed now that the team is winning.

I care just as much about the bench production.

Shooting guard Brandin Podziemski added 21 points, and when the reserves are scoring 50 points, Curry does not have to carry everything by himself.

The Warriors still turned it over 17 times, with 10 of those coming in the first quarter, so the slow start is the part Kerr will want cleaned up.

Golden State hosts the Clippers on Nov. 1 and the Suns on Nov. 2, and if the Warriors can avoid another slow start, I see them settling into the top half of the Western Conference.