Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg embraced the Halloween spirit by arriving at Chase Center in a Michael Myers costume ahead of his rematch with Luka Dončić and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Halloween Arrival and Previous Trash Talk
Lendeborg showed up for Friday night’s NBA Cup opener wearing the iconic outfit from the Halloween horror film franchise, as reported by Bleacher Report. The rookie previously grabbed headlines for trash-talking Dončić during the Lakers’ season-opening victory over the visiting Warriors.
Following that initial game, Lendeborg stated that he lost all respect for Dončić because of the Lakers star’s complaints to officials regarding foul calls. According to comments shared by ESPN’s Anthony Slater, Lendeborg recounted telling the star guard that he was struggling to score against him.
Lendeborg had earlier informed the press that team staff told him during the preseason finale that he would be assigned to guard Dončić for the season opener.
Matchup Statistics and Offensive Progress
Dončić concluded the Lakers’ 127-105 win with 28 points, shooting 7-for-18 from the field. However, tracking data from NBA.com showed that when directly defended by Lendeborg, Dončić was limited to nine points on 1-for-5 shooting, including 1-for-4 from three-point range, alongside two turnovers.
Entering the Friday night contest, Dončić leads the league with an average of 36 points per game and returned well-rested after sitting out the second half of a back-to-back game on Wednesday.
While Lendeborg recorded only 12 points during the season-opening matchup, he has since shifted significant attention toward his offensive production. He boosted both his shooting volume and overall efficiency, averaging over 21 points per game across the Warriors’ subsequent three outings.
If defensive responsibilities against Dončić end up restricting Lendeborg’s scoring output, the Warriors might rely on a strong performance from Stephen Curry when the game commences at 10 p.m. ET.
