Yaxel Lendeborg kept rolling for the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, scoring 26 points with 9 rebounds in a 119-114 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. He also committed 7 turnovers, the most in his rookie season so far.

However, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr found a silver lining in Lendeborg’s miscues after the game.

Steve Kerr Finds Value in Yaxel Lendeborg’s Turnover-Heavy Night Against Minnesota

Lendeborg’s scoring came on 11-of-20 shooting, including 2-of-5 from 3, in 35 minutes, though he finished with just 1 assist.

Golden State led by as many as 24 points at one point. However, Minnesota forced a string of turnovers, outscoring the Warriors 66-55 after halftime, and made it a game deep into the fourth quarter.

While Lendeborg and Stephen Curry (44 points) held off the Timberwolves, Kerr addressed the Warriors rookie’s turnover frustration and said, “I’m almost glad that this happened. He feels terrible in there. He’s not happy. And yet he had 26 points and eight boards. It’s a great lesson for him. The simple play is the best one.”

Curry, whose team wrapped up a 2-1 road trip, struck a similar theme about the group as a whole.

“We still have a lot of things to [improve], but you like learning lessons while you’re winning,” Curry said. “The 2-1 road trip is great. Step in the right direction.”

Meanwhile, the rookie himself was blunt in his assessment, “I played hella soft today. Draymond [Green] told me that as well.”

Wednesday’s giveaways came amid a productive start to Lendeborg’s NBA career. Through five games, he is averaging 22.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 4.0 assists, including a 31-point, 12-rebound performance in Monday’s win over the Denver Nuggets.

Lendeborg has been just as frank about the other end of the floor. Asked earlier this month to grade his defense during the preseason, he said: “I would say, like, probably 5 out of 10, honestly… I’m not really playing as aggressively as I did last year, on the ball.”

The Golden State rookie’s first test against Luka Dončić and the Los Angeles Lakers came in the season opener, a 127-105 Lakers win in which Dončić posted 28 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists.

The two also got into a dustup during that game that carried over into the postgame news conferences, where Lendeborg said he lost all respect for Dončić. When asked Wednesday if he is looking forward to facing the Lakers again, Lendeborg oozed confidence and said. “Absolutely. I’ll talk about that more on Friday.”

Friday’s game tips off at 10 p.m. ET at Chase Center in San Francisco and opens a six-game homestand for the 2-3 Warriors, who sit 10th in the Western Conference.