Warriors Fall 104-101 to Clippers as Lendeborg Flashes in Preseason Debut

Golden State opened the 2026-27 preseason the way plenty of October games go — ugly shooting, loose ball-handling, and a scoreboard that stayed close until the end. The Warriors clawed back from 13 down but fell 104-101 to the Clippers in Hawaii, undone by a Keaton Wagler step-back with 12.8 seconds left.

The starters barely clocked in. Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Al Horford were all finished by halftime, with Curry capped at 13 minutes by design. He made the most of them: a team-high 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting, 2-of-3 from three, plus two boards and two assists. Green added three steals and zero turnovers, while Horford hit his first triple then bricked three more.

The Rookie Report

The real intrigue was Yaxel Lendeborg. The rookie splashed a corner three for the game's first points, then went quiet on the scoreboard — 3 points on 1-of-5 — but the rest of the profile popped. He led the game with seven rebounds in roughly 19 minutes, bodied Brook Lopez on the block, and chased down a Gradey Dick layup for a highlight-reel block in transition.

The shot looked clean even if it didn't fall, and the length is obviously a weapon. The nitpick was one transition possession where he deferred instead of attacking the rim — exactly the kind of thing that ends up circled on the film. For a first preseason game, that's a fine problem to have.

The Bench and the Big Picture

The reserves carried the comeback. Charles Bassey (12), Brandon Williams (11) and Graham Ike (11) led the second-unit surge, and Golden State outscored the Clippers in both the third and fourth quarters. The new 5-out look was visible immediately — the first six shots were all threes — but 10 first-half turnovers and no answer for Rui Hachimura (21) sank the effort. Steve Kerr has six preseason games to tighten this up, and he'll need them.

For fantasy managers, Lendeborg is a watch-list name, not a draft-day lock yet. The rebounding floor and defensive activity give him a real path to value, but one quiet scoring night in a preseason opener isn't the sample to chase. Keep tabs on his second-unit minutes before committing a bench spot. On the veteran side, temper Horford expectations — he posted just 22.6 fantasy points per game across 45 games last season (2025-26) and his last-five-game form dipped 9.9 below his own average, a reminder that the Warriors are managing his legs.