Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg was supposed to be the supporting actor in Stephen Curry's battle with Kevin Durant on Wednesday. 

However, after Curry went down with an injury to his abdomen six minutes into the first quarter, the spotlight on the set quickly found Lendeborg.

Head coach Steve Kerr talked pregame about how big a task just defending Durant would be for the rookie in their first meeting. At the time, nobody envisioned the 24-year-old having to go point for point with the veteran, too. 

"[Durant] is good at everything," Kerr said. "[Yaxel] has got a big job on his hands. But it's always a team thing. I think the biggest thing for Yaxel every night now is learning individual tendencies. The details... You have to learn all your opponents in this league, so this is a good early test for him." 

Despite the 115-108 defeat, which snapped their eight-game win streak, the shorthanded Warriors did a fine job hanging around against the loaded Rockets and limiting Durant's output. 

Lendeborg led Golden State — and all scorers — with 25 points, shooting 9-for-19 from the field while adding 10 rebounds and two steals. 

He got the better of Durant head-to-head. KD paced the Rockets with 20 points, four rebounds, and five assists. The Warriors held him to 8-for-17 shooting, including just 1-for-4 from beyond the arc. 

Durant gave Lendeborg his flowers after the game. 

"He's a problem. A matchup problem. Being that tall, that skilled, too. I'm excited to see his career unfold, grateful that I got to play against him tonight," he told ESPN. 

The thing about defending a player of Durant's caliber is that you have to be prepared for him to get his. You're never just going to shut off his water unless he is having a bad night, regardless of who is guarding him, and you can't let that affect you at the other end. 

Lendeborg embraced the defensive responsibility and turned in one of the finest offensive performances of his career, a tremendous sign for Golden State moving forward as the Warriors' rookie continues to prove that he is not your typical freshman. 

The Warriors will need Lendeborg to take all the confidence from his success against Durant and perhaps elevate to an even higher level. That's because Curry is set to be out for up to a month with an oblique abdominal tear. 

Golden State is currently right in the mix in the Western Conference at 8-4. If Curry returns on Dec. 12 against the Cavaliers in Cleveland, he will have missed nine games. It's now largely up to Lendeborg to make sure that the Warriors remain comfortably above water until then. 

Lendeborg is averaging 21.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game, shooting an excellent 51.8 percent from the field and 42.6 percent from beyond the arc — surpassing all expectations the Warriors had for him coming out of Michigan. 

We will soon learn if he has another gear he can shift into to carry the team in Curry's absence.