Scoot Henderson sets Blazers rookie record in loss to Pelicans

The Portland Trail Blazers fell to the New Orleans Pelicans 110-100 on Tuesday night, but rookie point guard Scoot Henderson had a night to remember.

Henderson notched 19 points and 15 assists for the Blazers, setting a new franchise record for assists in a game by a rookie. The previous Blazers record of 14 assists was held by Kelvin Ransey (2/13/81 at Denver) and Bill Walton (2/1/75 vs. Seattle).

At 20 years and 66 days old, Henderson also became the youngest NBA player with 15 assists since Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (20 years, 61 days) had 17 on 11/19/18.

In the first half, Henderson was dominant for the Blazers, teaming up in a two-man game with Deandre Ayton that the Pelicans couldn’t stop. At halftime, Henderson had 12 points and 10 assists, including multiple lobs to Ayton. When he opened the second half with a no-look dime to Jabari Walker for a layup, and it looked like it was going to be a monster night for Scoot.

But, playing heavy minutes and dealing with a Pelicans zone, Henderson labored late in the second half. He ended up with eight turnovers on the night as the Blazers looked to fight back from a 20-point deficit.

After the game, Henderson spoke about his performance.

“My performance was solid. Trying to get guys the ball, and they hit shots. It’s as simple as that. We’re just trying to get our passes up as a team. We want a lot of passes as a team, so I’m just taking part in that and trying to get that pass rate.”

Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups liked what he saw from Henderson but acknowledged that he had to play him too many minutes.

“I thought he played good. I had to play him too much. I had to play him way too much and having him out there, just having the ball in his hands, he probably got a little tired. But I thought he made some great plays. I mean, the connection that he and [Ayton] had out there tonight was really good. I think one of the reasons they went and played so much zone was because they had a tough time with Scoot.”

Scoot Henderson’s rookie season with the Blazers