Warriors, Steph Curry take up for Yaxel Lendeborg in drubbing Luka Doncic, Lakers

Golden State Warriors forward Yaxel Lendeborg defends against Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic during the first half of Friday's game at Chase Center. (Justine Willard/Associated Press) He strolled through the depths of Chase Center on the eve of All Hallows' Eve, waving hello with the kind of demeanor that didn't quite match the fake knife in his right hand. Did Golden State Warriors forward Yaxel Lendeborg, truly, realize the narrative effect of the costume he'd chosen to wear on this night? Was it sheer coincidence? Was it a move of thespian genius?Either way, for a rematch the entire NBA world was waiting for, Lendeborg pulled up in the white mask and jumpsuit of one Michael Myers. That Michael Myers. "Halloween" Michael Myers. A killer, a slasher, ready to check Luka Doncic in a game Lendeborg said Wednesday night that he was "absolutely" looking forward to.For a quarter, the 24-year-old rookie led the Warriors to slaughter.And then came rebirth, courtesy of one Stephen Curry. In the third quarter of a 112-95 win came the individual highlight of Golden State's season, and a clip that'll live on social media for months and years to come, however the end of Curry's reign in the Bay comes. Isolated on the left wing with Doncic, trying to will Golden State back from a nine-point deficit, Curry let off a couple between-the-legs dribbles like a cougar toying with his prey. He tested the waters, pushing off Doncic, stepping back a little. He head-faked, and bumped Doncic off, and stepped back again. Doncic crumpled. Curry rose. And walked away with his hands on his head, his mouth in an O, after a 3-pointer that put Doncic on the floor and flipped the momentum of a monumental early-season Golden State win.An array of Golden State veterans - head coach Steve Kerr, Curry, Draymond Green, even De'Anthony Melton - have taken up verbal flags in front of microphones for Lendeborg, the unabashed rookie who sneered he'd "lost all respect" for Doncic after a 22-point loss in the first game of his NBA career. There was little choice, ultimately, but to support the rookie. Lendeborg has changed Golden State "dramatically" in just five games, as Kerr said pregame Friday, and single-handedly raised the ceiling on their present outlook. The old guard knows it."We're backing whatever he feels," Melton said Oct. 22, the night after Lendeborg's Doncic comments went viral. "We all got him. And now, it's just like everyone's been saying. We play 'em again, and just want to show 'em again, and again and again."On Friday, Lendeborg drew two early fouls, committed five first-half turnovers, and became utterly stuck in a straitjacket of his own creation. The Warriors looked shell-shocked: Georges Niang fumbled a ball out of bounds, Brandin Podziemski lost his dribble, and Green led Gui Santos out of bounds on a cut. This became one of the ugliest 12 minutes of basketball that Chase could've possibly witnessed, the Warriors committing 10 increasingly inexplicable first-quarter turnovers as Doncic forced Golden State to switch the 6-foot-9 Lendeborg off him in favor of a carousel; he cooked them all, with 21 first-quarter points.The home crowd begun the night chanting "Lu-ka sucks," and booing Doncic every time he touched the ball. The bear was poked. The bear roared. And the Warriors roared right back. A team that had collapsed in a Game 2 loss against Memphis - and nearly let a Game 5 win over Minnesota slip away - looked like a platoon dragging up a young, wounded soldier for three subsequent quarters. Melton provided an instant spark to drag Golden State back, with seven quick points early in the second quarter. Niang went head-to-head in barking with Lakers guard Collin Sexton, and hit three key threes. Podziemski had the most impressive night of an impressive start to the season, playing himself directly into the night's theater, beckoning for more noise to the Chase crowd after a fourth-quarter stepback three and a frustration technical on Matisse Thybulle. And an early 38-15 deficit flipped to an 97-57 finish over the final three quarters, thanks most of all to the singular efforts of Curry.Curry, himself, offered a staunch defense of Lendeborg's Doncic-back-and-forth in no uncertain terms, saying Oct. 21 that Lendeborg was "setting the table" for himself to show up. And Curry showed up for him Friday, transplanting the pressure on Lendeborg's shoulders to his own, playing to the crowd both as the Warriors begun down big and ended awash in catharticism. He took it upon himself, visibly, to hunt Doncic on switches. It begun in the second quarter, burying a three over Doncic and grinning, whizzing past Doncic for a layup. It ended in the fourth quarter, Curry entering another tango and burying a fading three over Doncic for his final basket on a 31-point night. He bounded away with his arms and legs windmilling, a 38-year-old superstar looking like a kid who'd eaten one too many chocolate bars before bed. And as Curry and Podziemski beckoned to the crowd again after their final subs late, smatterings of the crowd came alive again, with a sentiment that flipped from fully ill-advised to triumphant.Lu-ka sucks!SubscribeThere’s more to San Francisco with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Warriors, Steph Curry take up for Yaxel Lendeborg in drubbing Luka Doncic, Lakers.