Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant reportedly called Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard "soft" after the latter elbowed him in the face Tuesday night. Howard's elbow didn't sit well with Bryant, who got in his former teammates face during a heated exchange.
The two ex-teammates had a verbal altercation after Howard elbowed Bryant in the face while trying to make an outlet pass in the fourth quarter. The two exchanged words before being separated. ESPN reported a source as saying Bryant repeatedly called Howard "soft" during the verbal altercation.
After the game, Howard declined to discuss what was said during the spat.
"What do y'all want me to say, because I'm not [going] to give y'all nothing," Howard said, via ESPN. "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."
Bryant wouldn't elaborate on the spat either, aside from saying he wanted to make sure Howard knew he didn't like being elbowed like that.
"He elbowed me in the face, and I'm gonna let him know, I don't like that," Bryant said after the game. "It's that simple."
Lakers coach Byron Scott said the altercation occurred because Bryant and Howard dislike each other, but Bryant disagreed.
"You can't help but like (Howard)," he said. "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 (as teammates in 2012-13), but that wasn't one of those situations."
Scott offered an assessment as to why Bryant and Howard didn't get along as teammates: "(Bryant is) a real serious guy and wants to win championships. I don't know if Dwight is that serious about it."
The altercation resulted in Bryant getting a personal foul, Howard getting a flagrant foul 1 and both players getting technicals. Houston went on to win, 108-90.
