Yaxel Lendeborg's game vs. Nuggets gives Warriors glimpse of fantastic future

Stephen Curry was cooking Monday night, and the Warriors were feasting. He was making every shot, their leads growing to 10 and then 13 and even 15. They led 87-77 when Curry was subbed out with 3:42 remaining the third quarter. Uh-oh. Time for the historically worrisome non-Steph minutes against the proud Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena, where the Warriors had not won since 2022. To the rescue came Yaxel Lendeborg. With Curry observing from the bench, the rookie was superb, engineering a response that pushed the lead to 16 at the end of the quarter and clearing the path to a 134-114 win that was Golden State’s first of the 2026-27 NBA season. “Basically, in all the critical moments of the game, we just put the ball in his hands,” coach Steve Kerr told reporters in Denver. “And for a rookie to be that advanced already, it s extremely rare.” Playing in his fourth NBA game, Lendeborg’s performance allowed the Warriors to take flight against a team they struggle to beat, in a bui