Hornets' Henderson taking advantage of starting opportunity

TORONTO - The opening appeared, and Gerald Henderson was through it all night at the Air Canada Centre. It's been like that since the Episcopal Academy graduate hit the starting lineup for the Charlotte Hornets. An opening appeared, at midseason, and he's through it.

Although Hornets point guard Kemba Walker had 29 points on Thursday, he said after Charlotte got past Toronto, 103-95: "Tonight, it was Gerald. He was unbelievable at the offensive end."

It's always been very tough to keep Henderson from getting to his spots. His athleticism still stands out. In the flow throughout, he had a season-high 31 points against the Raptors, marking his fourth straight game in which he scored more than the previous contest. It was Charlotte's fourth straight win in four cities over six nights.

"He's been playing like that now for four or five games," said Charlotte coach Steve Clifford. "He's had a funny year. He got hurt in the beginning of preseason and didn't play in one preseason game. He had an injury, it was a hamstring, so it really affected his conditioning because there was only so much he could do. So with all the wings that we have, that really limited his playing time early in the year. He's really right now just hitting his stride."

"In the NBA, things change so quickly, you have to be prepared for anything," said Henderson, in his sixth year with Charlotte after playing at Duke. "That's just part of the job. I'm a confident player right now. Our team has done well in the last four games. A lot of guys have contributed. But particularly myself, I just try to be aggressive at both ends. You get confidence when you play well and you win. I feel good."