Wednesday Morning Basketball Report
12/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2009
Tim Duncan continued his strong season this week for the San Antonio Spurs. Last Wednesday, he tallied another double-double performance, knocking down 24 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. He also made a season-high 10 free throws in the loss to Portland. On Saturday, Duncan scored 26 points with eight rebounds in a win at Milwaukee. One night later against the Knicks, Duncan had 13 points and seven rebounds. He combined for 17 points and 10 boards last night against Minnesota for his 14th double-double - the 11th-highest mark in the league this season.
Chris Paul netted 20 points last Wednesday night in New Orleans against Golden State. In the Hornets' six-point victory, he also added seven assists and five rebounds. Paul totaled 16 points, seven assists, three steals, two blocks and a rebound in a losing effort at Chicago on Saturday. On Tuesday night against Houston, Paul eclipsed his season-best marks in defensive and total rebounds with 10 and 11, respectively. He had 16 points in the contest, marking his 11th double-double of the season.
Duncan and Paul continue to pepper the league-leading lists in a multitude of categories. Duncan is first in the NBA in efficiency ranking per 48 minutes with 39.36. He currently ranks seventh in the league with two blocks per game, eighth with 7.3 defensive boards a game, ninth with 10.3 total rebounds per game and 10th with a total of 54 blocks. Some of Paul's top-10 rankings include: first in the league in assists per turnover ratio (4.31), second in the NBA in assists per 48 minutes (13.8), second in assists per game (10.7), tied for second in triple-doubles (1), sixth in steals per 48 minutes (2.65), seventh in three-point percentage (44.8) and seventh in total assists (224).
Paul's teammate Darius Songaila scored six or more points in three games this week. Last night against Houston, Songaila had eight points, two rebounds and an assist. Against Golden State, he totaled eight points and five rebounds last Wednesday. Songaila totaled six points with three rebounds, one assist and a block against the Bulls on Saturday.
Josh Howard reached double digits for the Dallas Mavericks twice this week. One rebound shy of a double-double on Sunday, Howard combined for 17 points, a season-high nine rebounds, four assists and a steal in the Mavs' win over Denver. He scored 11 points in a win against Memphis one day earlier shooting 4-of-6 from the floor.
James Johnson saw his most time this week in the Bulls' win over the Hornets on Saturday. He played 17 minutes and was 2-of-2 from the floor and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe for a total of six points, while recording one assist and one rebound. On Tuesday night, Johnson had a steal, rebound and assist in 11 minutes on the court.
For the Atlanta Hawks, Jeff Teague scored two points in each of the two games in which he played this week. Teague added two assists and a rebound in 14 minutes in a win over the Pacers on Saturday. At Denver last Wednesday, Teague played seven minutes and also recorded an assist.
Check back to WakeForestSports.com every Wednesday for an update on the former Demon Deacon student-athletes currently playing professionally in the NBA.
