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Henderson's Debut a Bright Spot in Loss to Spurs

Gerald Henderson admitted there was a little rust in his first game as a Trail Blazer after coming off hip surgery this offseason. 

The six-year NBA veteran acquired in a June trade with the Charlotte Hornets entered Wednesday's game versus the San Antonio Spurs at the 9:26 mark of the second quarter to applause from the Moda Center crowd. Henderson said he "felt like a newborn baby" in his first moments of NBA action in 2015-16, but the rust quickly wore off as Henderson chipped in 12 points off the bench on 6-of-10 shooting after missing his first four attempts. 

"I feel like in the second half, I just made a shot — didn’t shoot an airball," Henderson said post-game. "I just kept playing."

He added: "It took a whole half [to shake the rust off]. I wasn’t worried about that as much. I was just trying to go out and play hard. I didn’t really change anything in the second half. I think my teammates just kept encouraging me. They knew that it was my first time out there and I thanked them for that."

Henderson's all-around game helped keep the contest close during the second half of the eventual 113-101 San Antonio win. Despite the defeat, head coach Terry Stotts was please with Henderson's first minutes of the season. 

"His second-half scoring was obvious," Stotts told reporters. "I thought the first half he was a little rusty and just getting his legs, but I thought he showed his shooting touch, he showed his athleticism, he showed some toughness defensively. He showed just a veteran presence as well."

At just 27 years old, Henderson is the second oldest player on the Trail Blazers roster. Henderson's experience can go a long way on such a young and maturing squad. 

"You can tell he has a great feel for the game," center Mason Plumlee said of his fellow Duke University alum. "He didn’t force anything, he lets it come to him."

After being sidelined following surgery and helping run scout team sets once recovered, Wednesday marked the first live action Henderson has seen with most of his new teammates.

"I hadn’t played with Dame [Lillard], I really hadn’t played with CJ [McCollum]," Henderson admitted. "I’ve kind of just been running the other team’s plays and scrimmaging that way, but I think paying attention the time was off and knowing what’s going on helped me be in the right spot. In terms of chemistry and learning other guys, that’ll come."

If a thunderous dunk on a feed from Lillard in the fourth quarter was any indication, Henderson is quickly building a bond with his teammates.

"That was fun," Henderson said. "Dame made a great pass to me cutting down the middle. I told him that I was going to cut sooner or later because they like to overplay and it leaves the lane wide open. We have a lot of shooters, so they have to play outside. I told him literally a couple seconds before that, ‘I’m cutting down on your drives.’ He made a great play, great pass."