ATLANTA - Coming off a career-high scoring performance against Florida State, Gerald Henderson might have been due for a down night against the Yellow Jackets.
But when the Blue Devils needed an offensive lift, the junior once again came through in a big way. In the second half, Henderson led the team with 12 points and three assists to take control of the game and secure another victory for Duke.
After settling for contested shots in the first half, the forward moved the ball more in the second period to create better looks.
"Early, we did take a lot of jumpers," said Henderson, who finished tied for a team-high with 19 points. "We knew we weren't going to be going in and dunking on those dudes all game. [With] those big dudes, you gotta shoot shots.... Your best shots aren't going to be hook shots over 7-footers. In the second half, we started knocking shots down."
Henderson started the onslaught himself with a long 2-pointer. A few plays later, he kicked the ball out to an open Kyle Singler, who drained a 3-pointer to give the Blue Devils a two-possession lead.
When the Yellow Jackets attempted a full-court press, Henderson broke the trap and fed Brian Zoubek under the basket for a layup, the center's only points of the game.
With five minutes to play, Henderson sunk a 3-pointer to open up Duke's first double digit lead. On the ensuing possession, he found Jon Scheyer in the corner for the guard's first three of the contest to all but the put the game out of reach.
"[In the first half], their defense was taking away the drive," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We ended up just kind of pounding the ball on the floor. I told [Gerald], either shoot it or pass it, don't just keep dribbling it.... In the second half, our offense had a little more movement so we put him in a couple of places. We went to him."
And Henderson delivered. Again.
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