The San Antonio Spurs opened the game with an 18-0 run Friday night and never let the Golden State Warriors back into it, rolling to a 123-85 win at Frost Bank Center.

Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg recorded a season-low 3 points while the Spurs’ Stephon Castle poured in a game-high 32, and fans did not hold back in their assessment. The rough outing came only hours after a clip emerged of Lendeborg discussing taking on a bigger role with Stephen Curry sidelined.

Warriors’ Yaxel Lendeborg Goes Cold Hours After Discussing Bigger Role

Lendeborg, the No. 11 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, entered the night averaging 21.7 points on 51.8% shooting. Against San Antonio, he shot 1-of-13 from the field, missed both of his 3-point attempts, and committed 3 turnovers. His minus-40 in 24 minutes was the worst mark of anyone on the floor.

At Friday morning’s shootaround, Lendeborg discussed how he planned to approach Curry’s absence. “In general, I do got to start thinking more like an alpha dog rather than beta, or whatever’s after beta. I’m definitely gonna try to shift the mindset.”

Once the night got away from Golden State, one fan summed it up by pointing to San Antonio’s top scorer: “Stephon Castle gave Yaxel Lendeborg his welcome to the NBA moment.”

A Los Angeles Lakers fan account mocked the Warriors rookie and pointed to the shooting line: “Yaxel Lendeborg 1/13 FG.”

Lendeborg’s only field goal was a 9-foot floater with 4:13 left in the second quarter, when the Warriors were already down 27.

Another fan zeroed in on the final count. “He went 1-for-13 from the field.”

Yet another fan went further and highlighted the defense he faced and remarked, “Yaxel Lendeborg fake demon when he go up against real defense … 1 for 13. Spurs got that boy in prison.”

For another hoops observer, the answer was to look ahead. “This Yaxel Lendeborg performance never happened. We move.”

Castle’s night went right the other way. He scored his 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting, hit 5-of-8 from 3-point range, and added 6 assists while finishing plus-35, doing all of it in 25 minutes.

Early in the third quarter, Castle blocked a Lendeborg layup. Less than two minutes later, he converted a three-point play with the rookie whistled for the foul, then finished a dunk after Victor Wembanyama picked off a Lendeborg pass.

San Antonio’s edge went well beyond Castle. The Spurs led by as many as 43, shot 48% from the field to Golden State’s 33%, and outscored the Warriors 56-28 in the paint.

Lendeborg’s next test comes Monday, when the Warriors visit the New Orleans Pelicans. With Curry set to be re-evaluated in two weeks, the bigger role the rookie spoke about Friday morning remains his for now.