LOS ANGELES (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg has only played one NBA game, yet he's already started a feisty feud with Luka Doncic.
The Golden State Warriors rookie began his career Wednesday night by refusing to back down from the reigning NBA scoring champion, who punctuated their prolonged on-court exchange of trash talk by making a spectacular half-court shot in Lendeborg's face at the halftime buzzer.
Doncic also won this fight decisively on the scoreboard when the Los Angeles Lakers blew out Lendeborg and the Warriors 127-105, with Doncic scoring 28 points in just three quarters.
Yet Lendeborg somehow wasn't finished talking: He called out the six-time All-Star as a complainer and a free-throw merchant during his postgame news conference.
“I lost all respect (for Doncic), man," Lendeborg said. “That was awful. ... A lot of flopping, a lot of foul-baiting, a lot of praying to the ref, man. Interesting first game for me, for sure."
The Warriors' 24-year-old rookie first-round pick said he sparred with Doncic on the court because of the Slovenian superstar's constant complaining to the officials — admittedly a common feature of most games in Doncic's nine-year career.
Lendeborg, who won an NCAA title with Michigan last season, said he enjoyed watching highlights of Doncic's electric scoring performances in the past — but he has a more jaded perspective on Doncic's skills now.
“Me getting frustrated, it’s not about the foul being called,” Lendeborg said. “It’s about him complaining the entire game, and then you get the foul call, and congratulations, bro. And then you talk to me like you did something great? Bro, come on. That’s just weak, you know? It kind of threw me off for a little while, because like I said, I had so much respect for him. Gone, man. Gone.”
Lendeborg and Doncic exchanged insults for much of the second quarter, with Lendeborg being whistled for a technical foul after saying something so loud and profane it caught the officials' attention.
“I was telling him he sucks,” Lendeborg said with a smile. “‘You can’t score on me.’ I said it the whole game. I said a couple of cuss words, obviously. That’s why I got the technical and all that, but I was letting him know, because he was laughing and talking, all this because of that one foul call."
Doncic mostly laughed off Lendeborg's provocations, but the Lakers star obviously thrives amid confrontation. He was whistled for 16 technical fouls last season, earning a one-game suspension for exceeding the single-season limit.
“He was talking crazy, but I wasn’t trying to talk back this season,” Doncic said of Lendeborg. “Not trying to get techs. For the first time, that was not a double tech, because I didn’t say nothing, so I’m working on it. As you see, I think it worked great.”
Doncic got the ultimate victory at the final buzzer — but his halftime win was incredibly sweet as well.
“I knew that was going in before I got it in my hands,” Doncic said with a grin. “I work on those.”
He got the ball near the scorer's table and let it fly with nearly 3 seconds left on the clock. When it banked through and set off pandemonium in the Lakers' downtown arena, Doncic gleefully pointed at the fuming Lendeborg, who wasn't impressed.
“His only bucket on me was a banker from half court,” Lendeborg said. “I know it’s a team sport. He had 28 on us as a team. Me, I took my matchup personally. Tried not to get called on the fouls. Tried my best. I was thinking about playing him with my hands behind my back to see if that worked. Probably would have still got a foul call. But interesting.”
A Warriors official then steered Lendeborg away from further denigrating one of the greatest players in modern basketball, but the rookie had already done more than enough to stoke this burgeoning personal feud as a fascinating new addition to these California teams' historic rivalry.
Doncic and Lendeborg should see each other again Oct. 30, when the Lakers visit San Francisco.
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