Charlotte Hornets center Dwight Howard joined an elite group of NBA players last night when he scored 32 points and grabbed 30 rebounds in a 111-105 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. The last time a player reached the 30-30 milestone was back in 2010 when Kevin Love had 31 & 31, and prior to that you had to go all the way back to 1982 when Moses Malone recorded 38 points and 32 rebounds.
Howard had a big time advantage in the paint last night as the Nets did not have any active player taller than 6'8. That said, the Hornets still found themselves down by as much as 23 in the second half before they mounted a comeback.
After the game, Howard says a text message he received at halftime gave him a little extra motivation.
"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, according to ESPN. "Got a text at halftime from somebody, and it kind of got me motivated and gave me some extra energy."
Only eight players in NBA history have gone for 30 & 30 in a single game, including Wilt Chamberlain, who had a staggering 124 such games during his illustrious career, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Howard is also the first player 30 or older to post a 30-30 game since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it in 1978.
"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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