Yaxel Lendeborg stunned many early in summer league as he lit it up from three-point range, and he proved that was no fluke on Saturday night as the Golden State Warriors fell to a third-straight defeat to start the season.
Lendeborg went 6-of-11 from 3-point range on his way to a career-high 26 points, but it wasn't enough as the severely undermanned Warriors suffered a 131-122 loss behind a 43-point performance from Suns star Devin Booker.
Yaxel Lendeborg proves summer league shooting was no fluke
There were questions around Lendeborg's shooting coming out of the draft, but he's already proving a sniper particularly for his size. The rookie forward took just seven attempts through Golden State's first two games, yet Saturday was a reminder that Lendeborg's offensive game is incredibly well-rounded.
The 11th overall pick added another nine rebounds and five assists, backing up his 18-point, 13-rebound, six-assist, three-steal performance against the Memphis Grizzlies 24 hours earlier.
Lendeborg's excellence went in vain though, with the Warriors choosing to rest Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Brandin Podziemski and Al Horford on top of the already absent Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody and Kristaps Porzingis.
The visitors competed and kept things close throughout the 48 minutes, only they were unable to stop Booker and the Suns offense that poured in 45 points during a high scoring third-quarter.
After a quiet start to the season, De'Anthony Melton came to life in that third period. The veteran guard finished behind Lendeborg with 25 points on an efficient 8-of-13 shooting from the floor and 4-of-8 from 3-point range, while also adding five rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Warriors gain some positives from a third-straight loss
It may be a dark start to the season for Golden State who've fallen to 0-3, but there were some bright spots on Saturday as younger and lesser players got major opportunity. Brandon Williams joined Lendeborg and Melton as a 20-point scorer, getting to the free-throw line on 11 occasions while going 2-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc.
Rookie center Graham Ike had his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in his second-straight start. The center rotation also got a boost with the return of Charles Bassey who missed the first two games with knee tendinitis. The 25-year-old was impressive in his 13 minutes off the bench, recording 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
This was a scheduled loss for the Warriors, yet one that still leaves immense disappointment following on from their fourth-quarter collapse against the Grizzlies on Friday.
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