New York, NY (Sports Network) - Miami Heatguard Dwyane Wade and Los Angeles Lakersforward/center Pau Gasol were named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month, respectively, for the games played in February.
Wade topped the conference in scoring at 30.7 points per game while shooting .502 from the field, ranking second in assists with 8.7 per contest and fourth in steals, averaging a pair per game. Wade dropped at least 20 points in every game and tallied a career-high 50 points at Orlando on February 22. Miami went 6-6 during the month while Wade paced the Heat in 11 times in scoring and 10 in assists.
Gasol helped the Lakers post an 11-2 record in February that included back-to-back wins at Boston and Cleveland. The Spanish 7-footer recorded 24 points and 14 rebounds against Boston February 5 and followed that by notching 18 points, 12 boards and six assists in the Lakers' triumph over Cleveland. In addition, his third career triple-double of 12 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists led to a February 17 win over Atlanta. Gasol averaged 20.9 points on .586 shooting and 10.9 rebounds for the month.
Other nominees for the awards were Boston's Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo, Charlotte's Boris Diaw, Cleveland's LeBron James, Golden State's Stephen Jackson, Houston's Yao Ming, Milwaukee's Ramon Sessions, New Jersey's Devin Harris, Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant and Utah's Deron Williams.
