Dwight Howard earned himself another place in the Orlando Magic record books on Wednesday night when he scored 30 points and 16 rebounds against the Houston Rockets for his 19th successive double-double.

Howard enjoyed a perfect night’s shooting from the floor, hitting all of his 11 attempts, and the rest of the Magic line-up responded well too as Orlando secured a massive road victory to retain their two-game lead over the pesky Atlanta Hawks in the Southeast Division.

But deservedly it was Howard making the headlines as he set his new franchise record to break a tie he had been in with the legendary Shaquille O’Neal, as well as becoming the first player since Wilt Chamberlain to score 30 points and 15 rebounds in a game in which he did not miss a shot!

I’d say he’d be a good luck charm at the game bookers, but things did not look so bright as far as NBA Betting goes early in the game for Howard as he was forced to sit out long spells of the first half because of foul trouble, picking up two fouls inside the first 22 seconds and sitting out of the game until the start of the second period.

Since a poor shooting night against Denver back in the middle of January, Howard has been on fire, shooting below 50% in only four of his last 18 games and taking his run of games with 10+ rebounds to 21 in the meantime.

Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis all scored in double figures in Houston as well, but there was no doubting coach Stan Van Gundy when he gave the plaudits to Howard after the victory, even if it came against a team struggling for form.

“He’s had stretches where he’s played well. Now he’s changed the way he plays. So he’s not forcing his way to the basket. He’s worked hard. He has made improvement and I think he’s going to play at a high level all of the time,” said Van Gundy.

Added to the statement victory over Cleveland earlier in the week it was a perfect start to a run of games that are all seen as winnable by NBA Tips, over the next three weeks, apart from a possible finals preview when the Lakers come to town (with a fit Kobe Bryant) on March 7.

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