Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic sent an emphatic message to Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg for trash-talking him in the first half of their opening-night clash.
Lendeborg is making his NBA debut with the Warriors against the Lakers in a nationally televised game. The 24-year-old tried to show he is fearless by taking on the challenge of guarding Luka Doncic, which led to him trying to trash-talk the six-time All-NBA First Team guard.
After Lendeborg’s attempt at trash-talking Doncic, the 27-year-old Slovenian responded in the most emphatic way possible.
Yaxel Lendeborg’s trash-talk attempt to Luka Doncic ends in disaster
After Doncic managed to lull Yaxel into fouling him with less than three minutes left in the second quarter, the rookie started jawing at Doncic, with Luka not afraid to respond.
This moment would spark Doncic into scoring nine points over the next two minutes, with the final three points coming with a half-court buzzer-beating three-point heave over Lendeborg.
Fans are already mocking the Warriors rookie for poking the tiger and ensuring that Doncic is motivated to destroy them for the rest of the evening.
“Don’t do it, rook,” warned one concerned fan.
“Does he not know that talking to Luka Doncic is the worst thing you can do?” said a fan.
“Yaxel’s welcome to the league moment,” said one fan.
“Yaxel gonna learn the hard way,” said another fan.
“Lendeborg really woke Luka up in the 2nd quarter. Bad idea, rook. Real bad idea,” mentioned a fan.
Doncic ended the first half with 23 points, six rebounds and four assists as the Lakers hold a 66-52 lead over the Warriors. Lendeborg’s first half of NBA basketball has him putting up a respectable five points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal, playing admirable defence on Doncic.
Unfortunately, Doncic has far more offensive counters for Lendeborg and the Warriors’ defence than they can game plan for, as Luka got more comfortable on the court as the quarter wore on.
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