Portland Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson displayed his mountain-moving confidence at the Moda Center Thursday night as he sunk the Utah Jazz with a midrange fadeaway with just 0.1 seconds remaining. From the moment Henderson got the ball in the backcourt with under 15 seconds remaining in a tie game, he had eyes to win it himself.
“I was going to end up taking the last shot,” Henderson told reporters after Portland’s 122-120 win. “I had the ball in my hands. You dream of plays like that.”
Operating out of the pick-and-roll with Portland center Deandre Ayton, Henderson attacked Utah big man Walker Kessler, stopped in the lane abruptly to send the 7-footer flying by, and pivoted into a turnaround jumper. Isaiah Collier, Henderson’s original defender on the play, got back to make the shot difficult. Still, with an extra kick of his legs, Henderson got the shot over the contest to bury it. Then he backpedaled into a shimmy, sticking out his tongue with a wide grin toward his teammates.
“I would rather [take that shot] than sit in the corner,” Henderson told Blazers reporter Brooke Olzendam during his sideline walk-off interview.
The shot avenged Portland’s embarrassing 42-point loss to the Jazz on Dec 6. It capped off Henderson’s 18-point, 10-assist, one-turnover performance on 50% shooting (including 3-6 from deep). And it gave the 20-year-old his first signature clutch moment in the NBA.
“Even in the first half, I thought he was playing really well,” said Blazers assistant coach Nate Bjorkgren, who is briefly assuming head coaching duties as Chauncey Billups deals with a family death. “To have double-digit assists and just the floor game that he was playing. I liked his confidence.”
“I saw Scoot having a lot of confidence and knowing where he wants to get to on the floor,” Blazers forward Deni Avdija added about the game-winner. “I’m so happy for him because he’s working nonstop.”
While Henderson played hero at the end, Avdija likely played the biggest role in the win. He tied Shaedon Sharpe for a game-high 27 points on 69.2% shooting, adding eight rebounds and six assists. The 6-foot-9 forward had one of the best vantage points of Henderson’s shot, standing on the left wing. It was a rare crunch-time finish for both players, who started the game on the bench but still logged around 30 minutes each.
Bjorkgren played Avdija all of the final quarter and kept Henderson on the floor for the final 6:05. Meanwhile, Blazers starting guard Anfernee Simons, who struggled to find his shot all game, sat the final 6:05. Starting forward Jerami Grant also sat for most of that stretch.
“I just thought that lineup really had it going, and I rode ‘em the whole last part of the game,” Bjorkgren said about the decision to stick with Henderson and Avdija. “I thought that lineup was playing with a tremendous amount of energy.”
The late-game adjustment served as a respite for a faction of the fanbase who have been calling for Henderson and Avdija to get more minutes. Considering the franchise’s investment in Henderson as the No. 3 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, some want to see Henderson made a higher priority in the rotation and in the offense, especially late in games. Yet, in his second season, Henderson has continued to come off the bench for about 25 minutes per game as he struggles to produce with consistency.
Thursday, Henderson played well and earned that coveted closing time. It didn’t always look pretty — even that final make wasn’t the smoothest — but he doubled down on that boundless confidence and came through when it mattered most.
“When I see him making that big shot with confidence,” Avdija said about Henderson, “that’s what a player needs — is to keep shooting, keep believing in themselves.”
