After Jerami Grant slipped on his trendy postgame fit and positioned himself in the corner of the Portland Trail Blazers locker room, someone asked him if he thought he’d be sore Friday morning.

“Shooooot,” he replied, “I’m going to be sore tonight.”

Welcome back, vet.

Grant made a successful return to the rotation and the Blazers returned to their winning ways Thursday night, defeating the Atlanta Hawks 117-101 before 16,196 at the Moda Center.

Shaedon Sharpe recorded 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists, Jrue Holiday added 12 points, four assists and three steals in 21 minutes and the Blazers’ bench had a difference-making performance as the Blazers won handily without Deni Avdija.

But it was the return of Grant that meant the most — big picture — on Thursday. After limping through the first half of the regular season with the second-most injuries in the NBA, the Blazers (20-22) are finally, slowly, regaining their health.

Holiday returned last week after a 27-game absence, adding a point guard to the lineup for the first time since Nov. 14. And Grant joined his fellow veteran teammate against the Hawks (20-23), playing for the first time since Dec. 18.

He checked in with 5:11 left in the first quarter to a lengthy ovation from the Moda Center faithful and scored his first bucket one minute, 19 seconds later, bursting through traffic into the paint for a tough driving layup around three Hawks defenders. Grant went on to record 16 points, three assists, two rebounds and two blocks, while making 4 of 9 shots, in a encouraging 23-minute performance off the bench.

It was hardly a perfect return. Grant went just 1 of 4 from three-point range, launching one fourth quarter long-range shot off the side of the backboard. He coughed up a third quarter turnover by fumbling the ball out of bounds on a one-on-one isolation drive. He airballed a short jumper in the third quarter.

But all things considered, it was a nice return.

Or, as Grant put it, it was “solid” return.

“I know he might have been a little off and his rhythm was off,” Holiday said. “I went through that for the last couple games, so I know how it goes. But he’s just a hooper and he’s going to do whatever is necessary to get it done.”

Grant said he started feeling “a little flare up” in his left Achilles “a little bit before” he finally sat last month. The flare up was later diagnosed as Achilles tendonitis and he ended up missing a month — 14 games — for rest and rehabilitation.

“I was playing through it and it’s something you’re not really supposed to play through, obviously,” Grant said. “So I heeded the warning and sat out.”

As that flare up calmed down, Grant said, he went through a variety of conditioning, but no scrimmaging since all the Blazers’ healthy “bodies were on the court” for games. Grant’s return Thursday marked his first five-on-five play since before he was sidelined.

A casual observer might not have noticed Thursday.

In the first half, Grant did a little bit of everything, producing seven points, one rebound, one assist and one block, while making 2 of 4 shots, in 12 minutes. He also chased around CJ McCollum and Jalen Johnson on defense. At the end of the third quarter, Grant created a picture-perfect final look by charging into the lane — drawing three Atlanta defenders — and kicking a pass out to Rayan Rupert, who swished a three-pointer at the buzzer. Then Grant opened the fourth quarter with another drive-and-kick to Rupert for another three, igniting a 15-2 run that delivered the Blazers a commanding 103-89 lead.

In between, Grant swished a third-quarter three, nailed a one-legged fadeaway jumper over McCollum and swatted a Nickeil Alexander-Walker shot attempt.

In crunch time, acting Blazers coach Tiago Splitter used something he hasn’t been able to use in recent memory: a veteran closing lineup of Holiday, Sharpe, Toumani Camara, Grant and Donovan Clingan.

It almost felt like October.

“He’s a special player and a big part of this team,” Clingan said of Grant. “He has the ability to knock down big-time shots. He allows us to have more guys out there who can guard 1 through 5. His activity, his knowledge, it’s important. He’s a vet in this league and he’s been doing it for a long time. So, really, just having that is big time for us.”

There were other big-time Blazers performances Thursday, most notably off the bench.

Rupert finished with 13 points, three steals, three rebounds and two assists in 16 minutes. Duop Reath added eight points, three rebounds and a block in 13 minutes. And Caleb Love had 12 points, three rebounds and three steals, reaching double-figures in scoring for the 13th consecutive game.

The Blazers’ bench outscored Atlanta’s reserves 55-34, including 19-2 in the fourth quarter.

“It was a team effort,” Splitter said.

But the biggest development on the team was the return of Grant. Indications are that Avdija will not be sidelined for an extended period. The Blazers’ budding star was initially listed as doubtful on Thursday and he went through a light pregame workout with an assistant coach before the game, during which he moved fluidly and seemingly pain-free.

When Avdija returns, the Blazers will boast their best collective health since November, a reality that helped Grant smile through a night that promised to feature a little soreness.

“We’ve got a really good team,” Grant said. “We’ve got people that can score, people that can defend, a few shooters. We have a little bit of everything. We haven’t really played many games with our whole team, so it’ll be exciting when we get everybody back.”