Superman Returns And Has A Game For the Record Books

22 Mar, 2018

Charlotte Hornets center Dwight Howard did something Wednesday night seen only one other time in the past 36 years.

With a rebound in the final seconds of a 111-105 victory at the Brooklyn Nets, Howard finished with 32 points and 30 boards to become the first player since 2010 — and just the second since the 1981-82 season — to have a 30-30 game.

The previous player to do it was Kevin Love in 2010, while he was with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He had 31 points and 31 rebounds in a win against the New York Knicks.

Prior to that, the previous 30-30 night belonged to Moses Malone, who notched 38 points and 32 rebounds in a game in 1982.

Howard’s monster performance came on a night when Charlotte rallied from a 23-point deficit to get the win. At 6-foot-11, Howard had a competitive advantage on the boards and in the post Wednesday night, as Brooklyn did not play anyone taller than 6-foot-8.

“Never been part of something like that,” Hornets teammate Kemba Walkersaid of Howard’s outing. “It was incredible. Yeah, it was incredible to see those kinds of numbers and be a part of it. Yeah, it was crazy.”

So what inspired Howard’s big night? Well, apparently a text message from a friend.

“I just thought that my energy and effort wasn’t where it needed to be for our team to be successful,” Howard said of how he played in the first half of Wednesday’s win. “Got a text at halftime from somebody, and it kind of got me motivated and gave me some extra energy.”

According to Elias Sports Bureau research, at 32 years old, Howard is the first player 30 or older to post a 30-30 game since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it in 1978, also against the Nets. The last player older than Howard to reach the plateau was Wilt Chamberlain, who had the last of his record 124 30-30 games at the age of 35, according to Elias.

“I mean, that’s great to be named with someone like Kareem,” Howard said. “It’s one of the guys I looked up to growing up, him and Wilt Chamberlain.”

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