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Washington Wizards at Indiana Pacers
2026-27 · Regular season
Micah Nori moves Scoot Henderson to the bench: ‘I believe in Scoot,’ as Sidy Cissoko starts and the Blazers beat the Thunder by 20
Micah Nori explained why he moved Scoot Henderson to the bench and started Sidy Cissoko in Portland’s 123-103 win over Oklahoma City, Damian Lillard talked about encouraging Henderson, and Mark Daigneault said the Blazers were the better team before Wednesday’s rematch.
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Micah Nori changed his starting lineup on Tuesday, and the Portland Trail Blazers ran away from the Oklahoma City Thunder. Nori moved Scoot Henderson back to the bench, started Sidy Cissoko for the first time this season, and watched Portland pull away for a 123-103 win at Moda Center that ended a two-game losing streak and snapped Oklahoma City’s four-game winning streak.
Afterward, Nori spent much of his news conference explaining the move, and insisted it was not a demotion. “I’m not trying to spin a narrative by any means,” he said. “I honestly believe that he is better for us with that second unit when we can have him initiate and do some things there. And I feel like he just kind of gets lost a little bit with that first group.”
The two teams play again on Wednesday night in Portland, the second half of a back-to-back set at Moda Center.
Why Nori moved Henderson
Henderson had started the previous five games after Ja Morant went out with a hamstring injury, beginning on Halloween. In that stretch he averaged 9.2 points on 34% shooting and 21% from three, with 12 turnovers and five assists. Portland had just lost back-to-back games for the first time this season, to the Lakers and the Spurs.
Nori said the problem was not effort but fit. With Damian Lillard and Deni Avdija in the first unit, he said, “those guys were taking the majority of the, you know, handling of the basketball. And I wanted to get Scoot with that second unit.” He added that the change also let him get Lillard back to the rotation pattern he has used for most of his career, “two stints and a half instead of three.”
He said he told Henderson about the decision before the game. “Number one, which I love about Scoot, he’s selfless. He was like, that’s fine,” Nori said. “Scoot’s going to help us win a lot of basketball games this year. I believe in Scoot Henderson. I honestly do. And I think that we are going to need Scoot. He knows that.”
Henderson finished with 11 points and four assists on 3-of-12 shooting, with five of those points coming in the fourth quarter after the game had been decided.
Lillard, who was asked how he has handled Henderson’s rough start, said he tries to keep it light. “When it’s happening, you don’t want people overly talking to you to make it too much of a thought process,” he said. “But when you have somebody who’s been in that situation, like myself or like Jrue, where you’re young and you’re trying to figure it out, sometimes just a word here, a word there. A little bit of encouragement that’s more subtle than trying to give directions can be helpful.”
Cissoko’s first start, and Lillard’s third quarter
Cissoko played 33 minutes and finished with 17 points, three rebounds and three assists, shooting 5-of-14 and 3-of-10 from three. His bigger contribution came on defense, where he and Toumani Camara took turns on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. “I think Sidy was phenomenal,” Nori said.
The game was tied 59-59 at halftime. Portland then won the third quarter 38-21, with Lillard scoring 13 points in the period, including a three from near the midcourt logo over Aday Mara with 1.1 seconds left that made it 97-80. He finished with 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting, matching his season high, and Avdija added 24 points and eight assists. Six Blazers scored in double figures, Portland made 19 threes to Oklahoma City’s eight, and it went 24-of-26 from the free-throw line.
Nori said that late flurry was what kept Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench for the entire fourth quarter. “They weren’t able to close the lead enough where Shai came back in the basketball game,” he said.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 26 points on 8-of-22 shooting and a minus-17, and Jared McCain added 21 for Oklahoma City. He praised Lillard, who missed all of last season after tearing his Achilles tendon. “He’s one of the best shooters to ever touch a basketball, and that doesn’t leave you,” he said. “He was a big reason why they stretched it out in the third tonight, and if we want to come out with a W then we’ve got to do a better job.”
Daigneault: ‘They were the better team tonight’
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault did not argue with the result. “They kind of got everything tonight. They got the pressure at the rim in the first half, and then things opened up from the three-point line in the second half,” he said. He said Portland’s perimeter pressure, with Donovan Clingan protecting the rim behind it, made it hard for Oklahoma City to get into its offense, and that there were “definitely correctable, fundamental things” to fix before Wednesday.
Nique Clifford, acquired from the Sacramento Kings on Sunday for two second-round picks, made his Thunder debut a day after arriving and played minutes down the stretch. “He doesn’t know anything. He just got here yesterday,” Daigneault said. “He’s learning everybody’s name, you know, so he’s calling me coach. I think it’s because he doesn’t know my name’s Mark yet.” “That’s our philosophy,” he said. “If there’s an opportunity, get him out there and let him get started.”
Youngblood’s foot and the rematch
Portland’s only worry was Chris Youngblood, who limped after a breakaway layup. “I don’t know when he went to go finish, whether he stepped awkwardly,” Nori said. “So they’re going to check him out.” Nori said he had kept stints short all night with Wednesday’s game in mind, and Lillard played only 23 minutes.
Portland is now 7-3 and Oklahoma City is 8-3. The rematch tips off at 7 p.m. PT on Wednesday, which is 5 a.m. Thursday in Cairo.
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