Wake Forest Athletics
Wednesday Morning Basketball Report
4/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
April 22, 2009
With the National Basketball Association playoffs underway, Tim Duncan, Josh Howard, and Chris Paul continue to compete, while Darius Songaila's season ended last Wednesday.
Duncan had 27 points in the loss, 105-97, to Dallas in the first game of the series. He was 13-of-24 from the floor with nine rebounds and two assists.
Recording a double-double in the second game of the series two days later, Duncan had 13 points and 11 rebounds in the Spurs' win, 105-84. Duncan also added five assists in the victory.
Duncan started all 75 games in which he played this season for San Antonio. Shooting 50 percent from the floor, Duncan averaged 19.3 points and 10.7 rebounds, with 3.5 assists and 1.7 blocks a game. He finished fourth in the NBA lists with 49 double-doubles as well as rebounds per game and total defensive rebounds (599). Duncan also was fifth in total rebounds with 800.
Duncan helped propel the Spurs to a Southwest Division-clinching overtime victory last Wednesday, 105-98, over Paul and the New Orleans Hornets. It also was pivotal to getting the No. 3 seed in the West. Duncan had 20 points and a season-high 19 rebounds in the contest, in addition to six assists.
In the same series, Howard helped lead the Mavs to the win at San Antonio in his first playoff action of the season on Saturday. He totaled 25 points on 9-of-18 shooting and four rebounds, three assists and one theft.
Scoring only seven points in the loss that tied the series 1-1 on Monday, Howard had three rebounds and two helpers.
Although battling several injuries during the course of the season, Howard started 51 games for the Mavs. He shot 45 percent overall and 35 percent from behind the arc, while averaging 18 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals a game. Howard surpassed his career-high single game marks in assists - seven vs. Utah on April 8 - and 3-point field goals - five at L.A. Clippers on Dec. 28.
Howard's final regular-season action came in a win, 95-84, over Houston last Wednesday. He had 15 points, three rebounds and two blocks in the contest.
The Mavericks will host San Antonio when the series continues on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. (ET). The game will air on NBA TV. The next two games will be in Dallas, with Game 4 on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. (ET) on TNT. Game 5 is in San Antonio on Tuesday.
In his first playoff game of the NBA season and 13th of his career, Paul totaled 21 points and 11 assists in the 113-84 loss at Denver.
The series continues tonight at 10:30 p.m. (ET) on TNT in Denver. Game 3 of the series will be in New Orleans and tips off at 1:00 p.m. (ET) on ESPN. Game 4 will be played Monday with the time to be determined.
On season lists, Paul was near the top of a multitude of categories. He finished the regular season atop the total assists (861) and total steals (216) lists. He was second in triple-doubles with six, three ahead of third-place Jason Kidd. Paul also ranked third in the NBA in double-doubles with 50 and third in assists per turnover ratio with 3.73.
During the season, Paul played and started 78 games for the Hornets, shooting 50 percent from the floor and 87 percent from the free-throw line. He averaged a career-high 22.8 points per games with 11 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 2.8 steals.
Paul had 26 points and 14 assists in the loss to the Spurs last Wednesday.
For the Washington Wizards, Songaila started 29 games and saw action in 77 during the 2008-09 season, averaging 19.8 minutes and 7.4 points per game. He shot 53 percent from the floor and 89 percent from the free throw line. Songaila finished the year with an average of 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He eclipsed his previous career-high steals mark when he totaled five against the Clippers earlier this season on March 18.
In Songaila's final NBA game this season, he neared a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds in the 115-107 loss at Boston. He shot 5-of-8 from the floor and added three assists, two steals and one block as the Wizards fell to 19-63 on the season.
For more playoff performance recaps of the Demon Deacons now in the NBA, check back next Wednesday morning.
