Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg admitted that "peer pressure" was the reason he fell short of scoring 40 points in Sunday's 124-112 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Lendeborg finished the game with 37 points, a mark that would have been the most for a Warriors rookie since Stephen Curry in 2010.
Lendeborg expressed his disappointment in his own actions, stating he is not typically a "stat chaser" and prefers "ethical hoops" and "efficient basketball." He acknowledged that his pursuit of the 40-point mark in the final minutes compromised his usual play style. "I didn’t do that the last two or three minutes. So it’s kind of bad on my part," he said.
He recounted that teammate De’Anthony Melton encouraged him to reach 40 points, and that Melton held the ball to facilitate Lendeborg getting a shot. "He said he’s going to give me the ball. And he literally like, was holding it just to give me the ball. And I’m like, ‘All right, fine. I’ll shoot it.’ And I missed," Lendeborg explained. He added that fellow teammate Will Richard also urged him on.
"Everybody was just egging me on, and I kind of just fell into it," Lendeborg said. "But I know next time, I’mma just play in the flow of the game, ’cause they came out of me like four threes in a row, and we almost lost the game because of that. So, next time I’m never doing that again."
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has expressed admiration for Lendeborg's performance, noting his impact despite his limited understanding of the NBA game. "He’s playing this way and he really doesn’t know the NBA game yet. … He’s going to get a lot better," Kerr told reporters.