Wake Forest Athletics
Wednesday Morning Basketball Report
3/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 11, 2009
Chris Paul scores more than 20 points in each of the Hornets' contests this week, while Tim Duncan adds three double-doubles for the Spurs. Darius Songaila of the Wizards records season bests in points and field goals made, and Josh Howard of the Mavericks gets additional tests done on his left ankle after netting 29 points in a busy week for the four former Demon Deacons playing in the National Basketball Association.
Paul has averaged 24 points and 13 assists per game since last Wednesday.
In an 89-79 loss that broke the Hornets' seven-game winning streak on Monday, Paul had 24 points and 10 helpers at Atlanta. On Saturday against Oklahoma City, Paul finished with 21 points on 10-of-16 shooting to go with 14 assists and six steals in the Hornets' 108-90 win. Paul had 27 points and 15 assists last Thursday in the 104-88 win against Dallas.
Over the last week, Paul has hit all 15 of his free throw attempts, making his last 17 straight.
Paul continues to lead the NBA in several categories, including assists (642), assists per game (11.1), steals (160), steals per game (2.76) and triple-doubles (5). He also ranks second in the league in assists per turnover (3.61).
New Orleans, a team that currently has a 39-23 record and is ranked sixth in the Western Conference, plays at Washington tonight at 7 p.m. ET. The Hornets trail the Spurs by 3.5 games in the Southwest Division.
Coming off a night where he played 18 minutes and totaled five points and five rebounds in a Spurs' victory over Washington on Friday, Duncan bounced back with two consecutive double-double performances later in the week. This brings his double-double season total to 39, which ranks fourth in the NBA tied with Paul.
Last night, Duncan had 18 points and 11 rebounds in the 100-86 win against Charlotte. On Sunday, he recorded 17 points, 15 rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes of play in the five-point victory against Phoenix.
Duncan also ranks fifth in the NBA in rebounds per game (10.6), defensive rebounds (467) and defensive rebounds per game (7.9). He is sixth in total rebounds with 628.
He eclipsed his season-high mark of offensive rebounds with seven last Wednesday in a 107-102 loss at Dallas. Duncan finished with 19 points and 12 total rebounds in the contest.
Still second in the Western Conference with a 43-20 record, the Spurs now have won three straight and will try to make it four when they host the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday. The game will be televised on TNT at 8 p.m. ET.
Songaila of the Washington Wizards had a strong performance at Minnesota on Monday. He recorded a season-high 19 points and season-high eight field goals made in the win. He was 8-of-9 from the floor with six rebounds in 29 minutes of action, and helped the Wizards break a five-game losing streak.
Songaila also played in three games earlier this week. On Saturday at Dallas, he finished with six points, three assists, three rebounds and two steals. At San Antonio on Friday, he had 11 points, five rebounds and two steals. Additionally, he totaled 14 points, including a perfect 4-of-4 mark from the line, in the Wizards' five-point loss last Wednesday at Oklahoma City.
Washington is still at the bottom of the Eastern Conference with a 15-49 record. The Wizards host New Orleans tonight at 7 p.m. ET.
For the Dallas Mavericks, Howard continues to battle his left ankle injury and had several additional tests on it this past week. The Dallas Morning News reports that there is a possibility Howard could sit out for the rest of the month but there is no official word yet.
Howard did play 39 minutes last Wednesday in the 107-102 win against San Antonio. He finished 10-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range, with 29 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
He played 18 minutes in the loss to the Hornets on Thursday and netted seven points.
Dallas is currently eighth in the West with a record of 39-25. The Mavs play at 10 p.m. ET in Portland tonight.
Check back next week for more NBA updates featuring Paul, Duncan, Songaila and Howard.
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