Rockets' Howard suffers bruised knee in Game 1
OAKLAND, Calif. — Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard suffered a bruised knee in the first quarter of Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against the Golden State Warriors.
Howard returned to the game following the injury, only to later take a seat. He finished with seven points and 13 rebounds in 26 minutes in the 110-106 loss.
At the halfway point of the first quarter, Josh Smith crashed into Howard’s left leg after missing a shot attempt. Howard stayed face down on the floor for a few seconds and slowly got up, then was looked at by trainers at a timeout with 5:50 to play. He walked down the baseline, hopped up and down, and bent both legs.
He then went to the locker room and was replaced by rookie Clint Capela before returning to the bench area with about 2:48 left.
He was lifted less than a minute into the fourth quarter for Capela and sat on the bench with an ice pack on his left knee.
Howard dealt with right knee issues during the course of the regular season and was absent for nearly 2 1/2 months with swelling in his right knee.
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