Wake Forest Athletics
Wednesday Morning Basketball Report
2/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2009
Chris Paul, Tim Duncan, Josh Howard and Darius Songaila all had strong weeks in National Basketball Association play. Each of the four former Demon Deacons scored in double-figures at least twice since last Wednesday.
Paul totaled three double-double performances this past week and more than 20 points in each of the previous five New Orleans Hornets games.
Last Wednesday in a 117-85 dismantling of Orlando, Paul netted 36 points - two shy of his season-high 38 points that came at San Antonio on Jan. 31. He was 14-of-22 from the floor with 10 assists, six rebounds and three steals in the victory.
In a 112-105 win at Sacramento on Monday, Paul recorded another double-double with 27 points, 13 assists, six rebounds and three steals.
The Hornets lost at Utah and at the Los Angeles Lakers this past week, but Paul totaled 24 and 21 points, respectively, in those games.
Paul finished with 16 assists - one behind his season-high mark - in the four-point loss to the Lakers, thus lengthening his NBA lead in total assists this season.
Paul currently is the NBA leader in assists with 550 and steals with 140.
The Hornets are now 33-22 and five games back in the Southwest Division. They will host Detroit tonight at 8 p.m. (ET).
Duncan and the Southwest Division-leading San Antonio Spurs are 38-17 after last night's win over Howard and the Dallas Mavericks. Duncan sat out the game with a sore right knee and is considered day-to-day.
Duncan continues to rank third in the NBA in double-doubles with 35.
Going into the game against the Mavs, Duncan had recorded four straight double-doubles and six double-doubles in his last seven starts - narrowly missing seven consecutive double-doubles by one rebound.
Last Thursday in an 83-79 victory over Detroit, Duncan finished with a season-high 18 rebounds to go with 18 points and three blocks.
Duncan had 12 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks in the other game he started this week - a 98-67 win against Songaila and the Wizards in Washington on Saturday.
The Spurs, a team that boasts the second-best record in the Western Conference, will host Portland at 8:30 p.m. (ET) tonight.
At San Antonio last night, Howard led the Mavericks with 19 points in the loss.
Dallas is now 33-23 and 5.5 games back in the Southwest Division.
In other action this week, Howard had 21 points at Houston in the Mavs' 7-point loss on Friday. He also grabbed four rebounds and two steals.
On Saturday in the 116-95 win over Sacramento, Howard totaled 20 points, four rebounds and two assists.
The Mavs face Milwaukee tonight at 8:30 p.m. (ET) in Dallas.
Songaila, who has scored in double-figures the past three straight games for the first time all season with the Wizards, finished with 15 points in the loss to the Spurs last Saturday. He also added two rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
He had 10 points and was 5-of-6 shooting in 28 minutes of action in the 107-96 win over New Jersey on Friday.
The Wizards host Philadelphia tonight at 7:00 p.m. (ET).
Please check back next week for more updates on the former Wake Forest student-athletes currently playing in the NBA.
