Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant bicker after Howard elbow

Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard aren’t exactly best buds. That much we knew before Tuesday’s season-opening Lakers vs. Rockets contest.

So it comes as little surprise that Howard and Bryant took some time out of an awful fourth quarter to exchange pleasantries, presumably eager to get reacquainted with the score well in Houston’s favor.

MORE: Julius Randle suffers broken leg | LeBron, Durant … Anthony Davis? Hard to argue

Long story short, Howard posted up for a rebound with 7:07 to play, the Rockets cruising with a 99-74 lead. Bryant stayed down to contest and Howard swung his elbows to clear some space. Then he did it again, this time landing an elbow across Bryant’s noggin. The refs called a foul, but not before the two started bickering.

Bryant appears to say something along the lines of “You’re soft.”

In the end, Howard got a flagrant foul, Bryant got a personal foul and both players picked up technicals amid the theatrics.

For most, the tussle simply brought back fond memories of Howard’s maligned tenure in Los Angeles.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.