Wake Forest Athletics
Wednesday Morning Basketball Report
2/4/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 4, 2009
Former Demon Deacons Tim Duncan and Chris Paul each recorded season-high point totals this past week. Duncan had a season high-matching 32 points in a 110-105 overtime victory at Golden State on Monday, while Paul finished with 38 points in a 106-93 loss to Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
Duncan helped lead the Spurs to four straight victories, prior to being given the night off by head coach Gregg Popovich on Tuesday (the Spurs lost 104-96 to the Denver Nuggets). The Spurs had won games against Golden State, Phoenix and New Orleans over the past week, lengthening their lead in the Southwest Division.
The Spurs are now 33-15 and lead the division by 3.5 games.
On Feb. 2, Duncan recorded his 30th double-double along with tying his season-high 32 points. He went 13-of-20 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the free throw line, and also added 15 rebounds, five assists and a block.
Duncan finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in a win over the Hornets on Jan. 31. He pulled down 15 rebounds and scored 20 points at Phoenix last Thursday in the Spurs' 10-point victory over the Suns.
However, Paul finished with his season-high 38 points in 33 minutes of play against the Spurs on Saturday, going 15-of-22 from the field and 5-of-6 from behind the 3-point line in the 106-93 loss to San Antonio.
In a scary moment for Hornets' fans, Paul went down in the third quarter of a game against Portland on Monday. An MRI yesterday confirmed he suffered a mild groin strain, and Paul is now considered day to day.
Paul could possibly return to the lineup this upcoming week but head coach Byron Scott is going to play it safe.
Scott told the Associated Press on Tuesday, "Everybody knows the type of heart he has and how much he wants to play, but I don't think it's possible [for Paul] to play Wednesday...If anything, [if] he plays tomorrow, he does more damage to it. So we want to take a couple of days and see if he's a fast healer. Until that thing is pretty much cleared up, we're going to wait."
Prior to his injury, Paul recorded 12 points and 13 rebounds against the Trailblazers.
Earlier in the week, Paul had 31 points in a 91-87 loss to Golden State on Jan. 30. Paul also finished with 12 points and 10 assists in a win against Denver on the 28th.
He continues to lead the NBA in assists and steals with 10.9 and 2.78 per game, respectively.
The Hornets have lost three games in a row, which marks their longest drought of the season, but will be at home the next three matchups. Tonight, the Hornets will host the Chicago Bulls at 8 p.m. ET.
Now only 4.5 games back in the Southwest Division, Josh Howard and the Dallas Mavericks have won three straight. Dallas is 28-19.
With 10 points in the first quarter and 13 in the game, Howard helped propel the Mavericks to a 105-95 victory at Orlando on Tuesday.
Howard had at least 13 points in each of the Mavs' three wins over the past week. He had 13 at Orlando, 15 at Miami and 19 vs. Golden State. He shot 7-of-13 from the floor at the Heat and 8-of-13 vs. the Warriors.
The Mavs' next action is tonight against Portland at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV.
Darius Songaila scored double digits in consecutive games for the third time this season for the Washington Wizards. He also had back-to-back games with 10 or more points on Dec. 6 and 9 (15 vs. Detroit and 10 at Chicago) and Nov. 27 and 29 (16 vs. Atlanta and 12 vs. Orlando).
Last Friday against Philadelphia, Songaila went 4-of-8 from the floor and a perfect 2-of-2 from the charity stripe. He followed that performance with a 4-of-10 night with three steals, five rebounds and eight points vs. the Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 31.
In a loss at Memphis on Monday, Songaila had three assists, three rebounds and two points.
Songaila and the Wizards host the New Jersey Nets tonight at 7 p.m. ET.
For more updates on the former Wake Forest stars now gracing the NBA hardwood, please check back every Wednesday morning.
