Photo Credits: getty images
- Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard scuffle
- Ex-Lakers teammates exchange words
- began trash-talking each other
Los Angeles Lakers coach Byron Scott summarized Tuesday’s fourth-quarter skirmish between Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard
Los Angeles Lakers coach Byron Scott was quite right when he was asked about Tuesday’s fourth-quarter skirmish between Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard to which he responded “They don’t like each other, simple as that.” The verbal altercation between the two ex-Lakers teammates began during the Houston Rockets’ 108-90 win at Staples Center when Howard grabbed a rebound and Bryant got in his face, trying to contest an outlet pass.
Apparently Howard was just throwing his elbows around to create some space and one of them ‘accidently’ landed on Bryant’s chin. The two have had a history and they are known for their clash during their one season together on the Lakers in 2012-13 and as a result of this accident, they didn’t spare any time and instantly started trash-talking each other and had to be separated. From what we have heard Bryant said after the match that “He elbowed me in the face, and I’m gonna let him know, I don’t like that. It’s that simple.”
After the situation was reviewed, Bryant was assessed a personal foul and Howard a flagrant foul 1and they both were tagged with a technical foul. Bryant reportedly also said “It’s fantastic. That’s the game. That’s all part of the game. Elbows are a part of the game. Trash-talking is part of the game. I don’t know where the NBA became so sensitive. It’s all part of it.” One of the sources from Lakers have also claimed that they heard that Bryant repeatedly called Howard “soft.”
Upon getting inquired about the incident, Howard wasn’t giving any specifics and he only said, “What do y’all want me to say, because I’m not [going] to give y’all nothing. It’s stupid. We won the game. It’s over with. I mean, there’s no need to go into it. We won the game. It’s about basketball. I mean it’s over with. It’s nothing. I’m not even focused on it.”
“You can’t help but like him,” Bryant said, smiling. “He’s a teddy bear. You can’t help but like him. I really meant that. He’s a really nice kid. But you know, when you’re competing, you have a goal in mind. I know one way to get there. There’s certain times when we didn’t see eye to eye, but that wasn’t one of those situations.”
source: espn
