Scoot Henderson watched the first 51 games of the season from the bench, eagerly wanting to get back out on the floor with his Portland Trail Blazers teammates.
The third-year pro finally is healthy after being derailed by a torn left hamstring and hopes to make another solid contribution when the Trail Blazers host the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night in the second contest of a back-to-back set between the teams.
Henderson registered 11 points, nine assists and five rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench on Friday as the Trail Blazers routed the Grizzlies 135-115 to end a six-game losing streak.
Henderson fit in fast during his reunion with his teammates, and his passes were crisp.
Most important to him, though, was just being on the floor.
“All those days when they (were) playing and I wasn’t, I was just soaking up the game and soaking up what we needed,” Henderson said. “I came out there and tried to provide that. That was moving the ball, staying connected and playing fast.”
The end result was Portland’s fifth-highest scoring output of the season. The Trail Blazers shot 54.4% from the field, including 17 of 42 (40.5%) from 3-point range.
“It’s just fun to be out there,” Henderson said.
Henderson, 22, did commit five turnovers, so the rust was evident. The third-year pro was billed to be the team’s future star when he was selected with the third overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft.
Henderson had lots of help from his teammates on Friday. Jerami Grant scored 23 points, Jrue Holiday added 20 points and seven assists and Toumani Camara had 15 points. Memphis had trouble dealing with Donovan Clingan, who recorded 13 points and 17 rebounds.
The status of Portland All-Star Deni Avdija (back) is in doubt for Saturday after he sat out for the eighth time in 12 games in the opener. Also, Shaedon Sharpe (left calf) sat out the second half and may not be available for the rematch. Sharpe finished with two points in 14 first-half minutes.
Cam Spencer scored 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting off the bench and GG Jackson added 15 points for the Grizzlies, who lost for the seventh time in the past nine games.
The Grizzlies are missing the presence of long-time standout Jaren Jackson Jr., who was traded to the Utah Jazz in an eight-player deal earlier in the week. Jackson was the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2022-23.
Memphis was very sharp early in the Friday game and led 36-25 after the first quarter. However, the Grizzlies allowed 81 points over the middle two periods as Portland turned the game into a rout.
“I love how we started the game, just the energy, the enthusiasm, the competitive will from our whole team and how we shared the ball,” Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo said. “I think there’s some positives from this game that we can build off and take into (Saturday).”
However, the second and third quarters weren’t pleasing for Iisalo, and his club eventually trailed by 30 points in the final stanza.
“We turned it over and we allowed them to score in transition,” Iisalo said. “We had some communication errors. … They also shot the ball better after that first quarter.”
Memphis also had a player making his season debut, as Scotty Pippen Jr. returned from left big toe surgery and had 13 points and six assists in 22 minutes. His famous father, Scottie, who played four seasons (1999-2000 to 2022-03) with the Trail Blazers, was sitting courtside.
The Grizzlies were without Ty Jerome (calf). He recently returned and averaged 22.3 points and 7.0 assists in his first three games of the season before being held out on Friday.
–Field Level Media
