For the second time this year, Yaxel Lendeborg finished a playoff run by hoisting a championship trophy.
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A little over three months after capturing the NCAA title with Michigan, the Warriors’ prized draft pick scored seven straight points on three consecutive baskets to bring the Warriors back from a late deficit against the Grizzlies.
Then he helped get two straight stops with the team leading by just one point, and forced a turnover up three, to close out the 94-90 victory at the Thomas & Mack Center on Sunday.
“I’m proud of this moment and I’m glad we got to win this,” Lendeborg said during the trophy presentation, later adding a, “So let’s go Dubs!”
Lendeborg finished the night with 21 points, 10 rebounds and two steals. Deivon Smith scored 21 for the Warriors, and LJ Cryer, Malevy Leons and Will Richard joined them in double figures.
Just a few hours after Spain lifted the World Cup trophy, the Warriors and Grizzlies battled it out for the summer league title in Las Vegas.
Golden State was seeking its second Las Vegas summer league title in franchise history, with the first coming in 2013.
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The Warriors defeated the Mavericks, Thunder and Knicks to punch their ticket to the Las Vegas playoffs, and then took down the Lakers. Their only loss? A 106-85 loss to the Grizzlies.
The rematch was far more competitive, with the game being tied at 47 at halftime as Lendeborg and Boozer took on the task of defending one another.
The battle of lottery picks lived up to expectations. Lendeborg put up a double-double, and Cam Boozer had 19 points and eight rebounds.
The Grizzlies led by double figures in the fourth quarter, but Will Richard led a comeback that cut the deficit to 87-86 with two and a half minutes remaining.
Lendeborg took over from there as Golden State finished the Las Vegas summer league 5-1.
“They’ve had each other’s backs, they’ve supported each other, and that’s what the Warriors of the past 12 years have been about,” coach Khalid Robinson said.
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The Warriors will not play again until the preseason begins in early October.
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